Jag Capital Management LLC Has $5.01 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Jag Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 37.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,511 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 9,470 shares during the quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,008,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. raised 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 worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $183.21 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $147.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.29, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $163.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $163.32.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 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 analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America lowered 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. Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 target price on Applied Materials and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upgraded Applied Materials from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $162.00 to $158.00 in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $200.24.

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.

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