Raub Brock Capital Management LP Acquires New Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Raub Brock Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 95,934 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $13,922,000. Applied Materials comprises about 3.1% of Raub Brock Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “mixed” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.29.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.5%

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $170.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $156.02 and a 200-day moving average of $163.20. The company has a market cap of $136.90 billion, a PE ratio of 22.30, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion during 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 firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

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

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

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

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.