Hartline Investment Corp Takes $1.22 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Hartline Investment Corp bought a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 8,385 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,217,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions 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 shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $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 is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AMAT. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $200.76.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.4%

AMAT stock traded up $0.85 during trading on Friday, reaching $190.86. The stock had a trading volume of 3,568,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,090,031. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company's 50 day moving average is $167.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.93. The company has a market capitalization of $153.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.69.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders 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 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 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.