Howe & Rusling Inc. Acquires 632 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Howe & Rusling Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 17,476 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 632 shares during the period. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,842,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 61.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $150.68 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.34. The firm has a market cap of $122.42 billion, a PE ratio of 19.70, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.37 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96.

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

Applied Materials announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price target (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.38.

About Applied Materials

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.