Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc. Has $483,000 Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 95.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,328 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,623 shares during the period. Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 3,734 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,061 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $173,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 3,062 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 977 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fourpath Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Fourpath Capital Management LLC now owns 9,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,388,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $200.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.6%

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $2.89 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $183.07. The company had a trading volume of 5,425,035 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,012,412. The business's fifty day moving average is $160.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.00. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $146.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company 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 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.