Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS Takes $203,000 Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Key Points

• Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS has acquired a new position in Applied Materials, Inc., purchasing 1,399 shares valued at approximately $203,000.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their stakes in Applied Materials, with Pacer Advisors Inc. growing its position by 2,401.0% in the first quarter.
• Applied Materials reported $2.39 EPS in its last quarterly earnings, beating estimates and showing a 6.8% year-over-year revenue growth.

Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS purchased a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,399 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,079,451 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,260,178,000 after acquiring an additional 253,078 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,663,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,602,645 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,338,520 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,356,094,000 after acquiring an additional 587,036 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,954,305 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $968,349,000 after acquiring an additional 484,133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,913,942 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $636,524,000 after acquiring an additional 1,056,787 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $1.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $189.61. 1,000,024 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,240,890. The company has a market capitalization of $152.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.69. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $215.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The business has a 50 day moving average of $178.53 and a 200 day moving average of $166.73.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued 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 business had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. B. Riley dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $205.17.

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.