Larson Financial Group LLC Has $10.48 Million Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 72,201 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,422 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $10,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Skye Global Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $45,862,000. Value Partners Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 9,896 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,608,000 after purchasing an additional 793 shares in the last quarter. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $230,000. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 71,577 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $11,640,000 after purchasing an additional 9,672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,538,743 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $250,246,000 after purchasing an additional 13,667 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the business's 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 directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on AMAT. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.74.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $197.10 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $248.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.17 billion, a PE ratio of 23.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.69. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $172.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.15.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. Applied Materials's dividend 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.

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