Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by Ridgewood Investments LLC

Key Points

• Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. by 52.1%, owning 8,359 shares valued at $1,213,000 after acquiring 2,862 additional shares.
• Applied Materials reported $2.39 earnings per share for its last quarter, surpassing analyst estimates and marking a 6.8% revenue increase year-over-year.
• Several analysts have recently updated their price targets for Applied Materials, with ratings varying from "buy" to "neutral," reflecting a current consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $204.74.

Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 52.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,359 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,862 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,213,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 2,401.0% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,066,817 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $445,056,000 after acquiring an additional 2,944,193 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 18,402.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,824,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,647,430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,814,444 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $1,663,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602,645 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 301.6% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,959,997 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $318,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471,953 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 10,767.6% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,347,580 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $219,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335,180 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, July 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.74.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $185.69 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $149.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $177.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $166.52.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.38%.

Insider Activity

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 of the company's stock, valued at $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.

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