Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC Sells 80 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,095 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 80 shares during the period. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $594,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,039,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,528,961,000 after acquiring an additional 487,358 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,079,451 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,260,178,000 after purchasing an additional 253,078 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Applied Materials by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,663,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602,645 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $1,588,422,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,338,520 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,356,094,000 after purchasing an additional 587,036 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $162.00 to $158.00 in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.29.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $173.77 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $139.45 billion, a PE ratio of 22.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The business’s fifty day moving average is $153.43 and its 200 day moving average is $163.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

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

Applied Materials 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.