Visionary Horizons LLC Has $541,000 Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Visionary Horizons LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 135.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,728 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,146 shares during the period. Visionary Horizons LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $541,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Focus Financial Network Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 10.2% in the first quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 3,539 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the period. InTrack Investment Management Inc lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 56.2% in the 1st quarter. InTrack Investment Management Inc now owns 5,104 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $741,000 after buying an additional 1,836 shares in the last quarter. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth about $230,000. Alhambra Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 1,950 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,849,953 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $268,465,000 after buying an additional 94,861 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Applied Materials from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $158.00 in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded down $4.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $170.59. The company had a trading volume of 5,292,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,961,152. The stock's 50 day moving average is $155.19 and its 200-day moving average is $163.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $136.90 billion, a PE ratio of 22.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. Applied Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.