Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by Peak Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Peak Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. by 212.6%, owning 11,522 shares valued at approximately $1.67 million as of the latest quarter.
• Applied Materials recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46, with a payout ratio of 22.38%, set to be paid on September 11th.
• The stock is currently trading at approximately $185.69, with a market capitalization of $149.02 billion and a P/E ratio of 22.59.

Peak Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 212.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,522 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 7,836 shares during the period. Peak Asset Management LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,672,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Skye Global Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,862,000. Value Partners Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 9,896 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,608,000 after buying an additional 793 shares during the last quarter. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth $230,000. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 71,577 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $11,640,000 after purchasing an additional 9,672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Humankind Investments LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 28.2% during the fourth quarter. Humankind Investments LLC now owns 1,503 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Bank of America cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Redburn Atlantic cut Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $225.00 to $200.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $205.17.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $1.74 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $190.15. The company had a trading volume of 1,670,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,245,734. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $215.70. The company has a fifty day moving average of $178.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $166.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.69.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors 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 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

About Applied Materials

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.