Evoke Wealth LLC Buys 517 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Evoke Wealth LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 25.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,544 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 517 shares during the quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $414,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Horizon Investments LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 60.7% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 31,112 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,060,000 after buying an additional 11,749 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,913 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,702,000 after buying an additional 3,462 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,023,598 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $166,730,000 after buying an additional 27,459 shares during the last quarter. RD Lewis Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $582,000. Finally, Delphi Management Inc. MA raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA now owns 7,305 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,188,000 after buying an additional 1,052 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $154.46 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.37 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The business’s fifty day moving average is $171.16 and its 200 day moving average is $178.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $125.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.