Capital Advisors Inc. OK Buys 73,286 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Capital Advisors Inc. OK increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 25.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 361,437 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 73,286 shares during the quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $52,452,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. lifted 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 buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $195.39. The company had a trading volume of 6,169,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,110,360. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $170.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $164.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.80 billion, a PE ratio of 23.77, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is 22.38%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports 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 research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn cut shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $202.65.

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.