Family Legacy Inc. Acquires 313 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Family Legacy Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 26,970 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 313 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for 1.6% of Family Legacy Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Family Legacy Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,773,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 61.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on AMAT. Barclays cut their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.67.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $145.06 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $167.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.84. 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 $143.38 and a 12-month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.