J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Acquires 23,936 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 150.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,874 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 23,936 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,786,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 10,280 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,492,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 32.5% in the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 25,999 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,774,000 after acquiring an additional 6,370 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth approximately $422,000. Copperwynd Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 5,074 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $736,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares during the period. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 119,771 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $17,381,000 after acquiring an additional 1,031 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials 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 in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock opened at $190.44 on Monday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $175.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $166.02. 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 firm has a market cap of $152.83 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.69. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $224.09.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. 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 report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 target price on Applied Materials and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.74.

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.

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