Bulltick Wealth Management LLC Purchases New Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Key Points

• Bulltick Wealth Management LLC has acquired a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT), purchasing 6,828 shares valued at approximately $990,000 in the first quarter.
• A number of other large investors have also increased their stakes in Applied Materials, with institutional investors currently owning 80.56% of the company's stock.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46 to be paid on September 11th, representing a 1.0% dividend yield.

Bulltick Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 6,828 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $990,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. B. Riley reduced their price target 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price target (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.09.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock traded up $1.58 on Wednesday, hitting $190.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,918,970 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,109,001. 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 stock's 50 day moving average is $183.80 and its 200-day moving average is $166.69. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $215.70. The company has a market capitalization of $152.50 billion, a PE ratio of 23.12, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion for 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders 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 1.0%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Applied Materials

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.