8,539 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Acquired by Bridgewater Advisors Inc.

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 8,539 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,277,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tectonic Advisors LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 14.1% during the first quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 12,655 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,836,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth about $776,000. Concord Asset Management LLC VA lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.6% in the first quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 12,512 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,797,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.5% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 72,201 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $10,478,000 after acquiring an additional 2,422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 35.8% in the first quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 5,723 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $831,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded down $2.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $190.44. 4,742,609 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,118,517. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $224.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.17, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $175.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $165.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.76.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 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 analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. B. Riley dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.74.

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.