Sen. John Boozman Purchases Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Senator John Boozman (R-Arkansas) recently bought shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT). In a filing disclosed on April 20th, the Senator disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Applied Materials stock on March 19th.

Senator John Boozman also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of DTE Energy (NYSE:DTE) on 3/19/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF (NYSEARCA:IVW) on 3/19/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Invesco Short Term Treasury ETF (NYSEARCA:TBLL) on 3/19/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Invesco Short Term Treasury ETF (NYSEARCA:TBLL) on 3/5/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Sprott Lithium Miners ETF (NASDAQ:LITP) on 2/26/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Invesco Short Term Treasury ETF (NYSEARCA:TBLL) on 2/26/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of First Trust Global Tactical Commodity Strategy Fund (NASDAQ:FTGC) on 2/26/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund (NYSEARCA:EMLP) on 2/26/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) on 2/26/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) on 2/26/2025.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $143.58 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $150.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.51. The stock has a market cap of $116.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. Analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value 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. The trade was a 3.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $1,588,422,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 18,402.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,824,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,647,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,814,444 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in 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 valued at $1,663,780,000 after buying an additional 1,602,645 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 301.6% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 1,471,953 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 10,767.6% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,347,580 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $219,157,000 after buying an additional 1,335,180 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on AMAT. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $208.86.

About Senator Boozman

John Boozman (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. Senate from Arkansas. He assumed office on January 3, 2011. His current term ends on January 3, 2029. Boozman (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the U.S. Senate to represent Arkansas. He won in the general election on November 8, 2022. Boozman won re-election in 2016. He faced Democrat Conner Eldridge, Libertarian Frank Gilbert, and write-in candidate Jason Tate in the general election. Arkansas’ U.S. Senate race was rated as safely Republican in 2016. Boozman began his political career in the U.S. House. He won a special election in 2001 and served in that position until his election to the Senate in 2010. Prior to his political career, Boozman worked as an optometrist. As of a 2014 analysis of multiple outside rankings, Boozman is an average Republican member of Congress, meaning he will vote with the Republican Party on the majority of bills. Below is an abbreviated outline of Boozman’s academic, professional, and political career: 2011-Present: U.S. Senator from Arkansas 2001-2011: U.S. Representative from Arkansas 1977: Graduated from Southern College of Optometry

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.