Endowment Wealth Management Inc. Takes Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Key Points

• Endowment Wealth Management Inc. has acquired a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc., purchasing 1,948 shares worth approximately $283,000.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Applied Materials, with 17 buy ratings and 9 hold ratings, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $204.09.
• Applied Materials recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46, translating to an annual yield of 1.0%, with payment scheduled for September 11th.

Endowment Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,948 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $283,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% during the 1st 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 period. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.09.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded up $1.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $184.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,338,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,230,918. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $215.70. The stock has a market cap of $148.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $181.57 and a 200-day moving average of $166.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given 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 1.0%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Applied Materials Company 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.