Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by HB Wealth Management LLC

HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 18.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,303 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,796 shares during the quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $1,764,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 89.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,988 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,121,000 after purchasing an additional 4,239 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.4% in the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,350 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $699,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Fielder Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $611,000. Finally, Balentine LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 19,263 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,122,000 after buying an additional 3,538 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Barclays upgraded shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, B. Riley reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.14.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $1,597,650.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 78,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,767,230.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’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 owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 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. Insiders have sold 69,827 shares of company stock valued at $16,935,760 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock traded up $3.33 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $196.22. 1,372,117 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,969,510. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $217.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.54. The company has a market cap of $162.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $255.89. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 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.