Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Acquired by Lountzis Asset Management LLC

Lountzis Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 12.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 120,219 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 13,570 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up 6.8% of Lountzis Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Lountzis Asset Management LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $18,128,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,588,422,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 18,402.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,824,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,647,430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,814,444 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,663,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602,645 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 301.6% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,959,997 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $318,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 10,767.6% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,347,580 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $219,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335,180 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on AMAT. 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 research note on Friday, May 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday. They set a "buy" rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $203.65.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT traded up $2.64 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $198.03. The stock had a trading volume of 5,228,717 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,114,250. 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 50-day moving average price of $170.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $164.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $255.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.09, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.69.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials 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.