American Alpha Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Key Points

• American Alpha Advisors LLC recently acquired 2,672 shares of Applied Materials, Inc. for about $388,000, indicating growing interest from hedge funds in the semiconductor equipment sector.
• Analysts have varied price targets for Applied Materials, with Wells Fargo raising it to $215.00 and Bank of America lowering it to $190.00, highlighting mixed sentiments in the market.
• Applied Materials announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 1.0% and a dividend payout ratio of 22.38%.

American Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $388,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Applied Materials by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,663,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,602,645 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Applied Materials by 20.7% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 7,189,402 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,043,326,000 after buying an additional 1,235,097 shares in the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers grew its stake in Applied Materials by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 4,993,172 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $724,609,000 after buying an additional 280,955 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,830,923 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $701,064,000 after buying an additional 25,878 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 37.0% in the 4th quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,913,942 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $636,524,000 after buying an additional 1,056,787 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on AMAT. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, July 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.09.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.3%

AMAT traded down $0.49 on Monday, reaching $184.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,813,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,234,765. The stock has a market cap of $147.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.70. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $215.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The business's 50 day moving average is $182.16 and its 200 day moving average is $166.39.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.38%.

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.