Moors & Cabot Inc. Purchases 3,437 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 27.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,072 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,437 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,793,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 56.0% during the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $187.58 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $155.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.56, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $202.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $210.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released 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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.90 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 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, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $223.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, B. Riley reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 available at this link. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.