Callan Capital LLC Makes New $221,000 Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Callan Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,525 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 3,734 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $607,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,061 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $173,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.7% during the first quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 1,506 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 977 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fourpath Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.8% during the first quarter. Fourpath Capital Management LLC now owns 9,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,388,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $197.93. 4,421,713 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,103,530. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.57. 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 firm has a market cap of $158.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.69. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $171.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $164.77.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. Applied Materials's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Barclays cut their target price on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup raised their target price on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America cut their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $203.65.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was 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 directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Company 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.