Grimes & Company Inc. Has $11 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Grimes & Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 75,814 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $11,002,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $176.55 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $141.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $156.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $163.10.

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

Applied Materials announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program 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 programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought 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 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 corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on AMAT. B. Riley dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.29.

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.