Brown Advisory Inc. Buys 15,377 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 19.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 94,619 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,377 shares during the quarter. Brown Advisory Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $13,731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 972.2% in the first quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. Citigroup lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $203.65.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $197.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,423,891 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,109,438. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $171.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $164.77. The stock has a market cap of $158.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $248.81.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. Applied Materials's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 22.38%.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.