Geller Advisors LLC Buys 90 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Geller Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,212 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the quarter. Geller Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $522,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $1,588,422,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $1,663,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602,645 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 301.6% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,959,997 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $318,754,000 after buying an additional 1,471,953 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $182,962,000. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,913,942 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $636,524,000 after acquiring an additional 1,056,787 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $155.69 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The business’s 50-day moving average is $147.27 and its 200 day moving average is $165.99. The company has a market capitalization of $126.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.86.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Company 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.