Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Buys 8,466 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 5.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 162,930 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,466 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $23,644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

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 transaction of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.1%

NASDAQ AMAT traded down $0.27 during trading on Monday, reaching $190.78. 6,576,529 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,087,972. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.10 billion, a PE ratio of 23.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $167.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $163.94.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AMAT. Jefferies Financial Group raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $202.00.

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.