Brookstone Capital Management Boosts Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Brookstone Capital Management increased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 119.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 99,428 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 54,050 shares during the quarter. Brookstone Capital Management's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $14,429,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 972.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were 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. The trade was 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 the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Mizuho cut their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price target (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. B. Riley reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $200.76.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.4%

Applied Materials stock opened at $190.86 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.22, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $166.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $163.80.

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 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 business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

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.

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