Keynote Financial Services LLC Invests $1.12 Million in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Keynote Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,440 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,122,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. RFP Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 96.6% in the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Raymond James raised their target price on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.84.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $14.49 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $181.81. 12,991,632 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,521,505. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $150.53 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.56. The business’s fifty day moving average is $227.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $207.78. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The business’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

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.