Kowal Investment Group LLC Acquires 175 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Kowal Investment Group LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 6.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,039 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Kowal Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $627,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $741,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 11,822.8% in the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 19,911 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,757,000 after acquiring an additional 19,744 shares in the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 4.2% in the third quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 4,277 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $592,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 12.7% during the third quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 23,091 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,197,000 after purchasing an additional 2,608 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $249,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.84.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $236.39. 2,618,574 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,761,268. The firm has a market capitalization of $195.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $249.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.80. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $218.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $196.10.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total transaction of $554,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 76,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,890,103.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $1,597,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 78,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,767,230.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total value of $554,050.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 76,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,890,103.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.29% 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.