Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Invests $776,000 in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS bought a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,350 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $776,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position 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 worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. Mizuho boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. 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 report on Friday, March 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.74.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.1%

Applied Materials stock traded down $2.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $190.44. 4,754,744 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,118,549. The business has a fifty day moving average of $175.19 and a 200 day moving average of $165.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46. The firm has a market cap of $152.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.17, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.69. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $224.09.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. Applied Materials's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 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.