Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 25,878 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 0.5%, acquiring an additional 25,878 shares, bringing their total holdings to approximately 4.83 million shares valued at $701 million.
• Applied Materials announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46, payable on September 11th, translating to an annual yield of 1.0% and a payout ratio of 22.38%.
• The company's stock is currently trading at $184.87, with analysts maintaining a "Moderate Buy" rating and an average price target of $204.09.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 0.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,830,923 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 25,878 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.59% of Applied Materials worth $701,064,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 3,734 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Old Port Advisors boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 2.5% in the first quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 2,730 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $396,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 4.7% in the first quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 1,506 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 2.8% during the first quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 2,540 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 7.2% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $152,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials 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 in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.9%

AMAT traded up $1.72 during trading on Friday, hitting $184.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,338,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,090,117. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.49, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.70. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $215.70. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $182.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.76. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. Applied Materials's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Redburn Atlantic cut Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $200.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.09.

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.