AIA Group Ltd boosted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 170.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,495 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 12,291 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,829,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,603,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,061,000 after buying an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $837,000. Synovus Financial Corp increased its position in Applied Materials by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 47,546 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $7,733,000 after buying an additional 1,923 shares during the period. Finally, Savvy Advisors Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 1,506 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 price objective on Applied Materials and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup increased their target price on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Mizuho increased their target price on Applied Materials from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.09.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Applied Materials
Applied Materials Price Performance
Applied Materials stock opened at $184.38 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $147.96 billion, a PE ratio of 22.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.70. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $215.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $182.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $166.37.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.
Applied Materials Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.38%.
Insider Activity
In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Applied Materials Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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