Parallel Advisors LLC Acquires 295 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,723 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,882,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Biltmore Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Field & Main Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 3,170 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 6,998 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,138,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,388 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,202,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,601 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,375,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Susquehanna increased their target price on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $155.46 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.37 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $172.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $178.88. The firm has a market cap of $126.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.32, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign 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.