Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC

Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 99.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,455 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 9,191 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,678,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% in the 1st quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other 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 transaction of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $202.00.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $190.78. 6,576,529 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,087,971. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $153.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.21, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.69. The stock's 50-day moving average is $167.47 and its 200 day moving average is $163.94.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. Applied Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

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.