Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Bought by Ascent Group LLC

Ascent Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,308 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. JT Stratford LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.4% in the first quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 10,890 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,246,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $191,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors raised its position in Applied Materials by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 5,217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $846,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.9% in the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 6,041 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,246,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, F M Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.9% in the first quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 2,098 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Raymond James upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Barclays upgraded Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. B. Riley upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.84.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value 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 $16,767,230.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.0 %

AMAT traded down $4.14 on Tuesday, reaching $201.43. 1,106,879 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,721,506. The company has a market cap of $166.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.76, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.80. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $129.21 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company’s 50 day moving average is $229.21 and its 200-day moving average is $206.91.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. The firm 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 quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

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.