Curat Global LLC Purchases New Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 21,681 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,146,000. Applied Materials comprises about 3.8% of Curat Global LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 2,060 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 3,734 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 1,862 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,061 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $173,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp now owns 3,455 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $164.19 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $131.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.46, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “mixed” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.48.

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.