Capital Management Associates Inc Buys 1,745 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Capital Management Associates Inc increased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 100.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,480 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,745 shares during the period. Capital Management Associates Inc's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 972.2% during the first quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 price objective on Applied Materials and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $202.65.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.1%

AMAT stock traded up $4.09 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $194.87. 2,233,575 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,069,477. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $255.89. 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 of $168.27 and a 200-day moving average of $164.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.69.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side 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 initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is 22.38%.

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.