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Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Buys 8,496 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Applied Materials logo with Computer and Technology background

Key Points

  • Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. by 7.9% in Q1, now holding 116,685 shares valued at approximately $16.93 million.
  • Applied Materials reported a quarterly EPS of $2.39, exceeding analysts' expectations, and had a revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter.
  • The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46, equating to a 1.0% dividend yield, with a payout ratio of 22.38%.
  • Five stocks to consider instead of Applied Materials.

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 7.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 116,685 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,496 shares during the quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $16,933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 972.2% during the 1st quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $55,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, July 7th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Barclays upped their target price on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $205.17.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on AMAT

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $179.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,391,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,876,455. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $215.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.44 billion, a PE ratio of 21.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.70. The stock's 50-day moving average is $179.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.99.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The company 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 business earned $2.09 earnings per share. Applied Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 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%.

About Applied Materials

(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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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT)

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