Oak Thistle LLC Takes Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 2,633 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $543,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, First United Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total transaction 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $1.42 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $237.41. 4,238,596 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,774,771. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $218.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $196.10. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $249.42. The company has a market cap of $196.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Barclays upgraded shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.84.

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.