Cary Street Partners Financial LLC Increases Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Key Points

• Cary Street Partners Financial LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 23.0%, holding 16,004 shares valued at $2.32 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Applied Materials, with Mizuho and Citigroup both setting targets of $220.00, highlighting a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.
• Applied Materials is set to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share on September 11, reflecting a 1.0% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 22.38%.

Cary Street Partners Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 23.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,996 shares during the quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $28,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.9%

NASDAQ AMAT traded up $1.72 on Friday, hitting $184.87. The stock had a trading volume of 4,338,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,230,918. The business's fifty day moving average price is $181.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $166.81. The stock has a market cap of $148.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.76. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $215.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. Applied Materials's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.09.

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.