Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $226,000 in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,634 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Scott & Selber Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 76.4% during the first quarter. Scott & Selber Inc. now owns 22,446 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,257,000 after buying an additional 9,724 shares during the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 29.8% during the 1st quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,145 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $892,000 after acquiring an additional 1,411 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 29,190 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $4,191,000 after acquiring an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 49.2% in the first quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 110.7% during the first quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 571 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company'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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded up $0.92 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $183.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,282,973 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,031,004. The company has a market cap of $147.65 billion, a PE ratio of 22.40, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.67. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $164.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $163.32. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $255.89.

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 company had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AMAT. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $200.76.

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.