Maxi Investments CY Ltd Has $972,000 Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Key Points

• Maxi Investments CY Ltd increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. by 37.2%, holding 6,700 shares valued at approximately $972,000 as of the latest SEC filing.
• Multiple hedge funds adjusted their positions in Applied Materials, with Runnymede Capital Advisors raising its stake by an impressive 972.2%.
• Applied Materials declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, with an ex-dividend date set for August 21st, representing an annualized yield of 1.0%.

Maxi Investments CY Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 37.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,700 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,815 shares during the quarter. Maxi Investments CY Ltd's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $972,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 972.2% during the 1st 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 stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 price target on Applied Materials and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $185.00 price target (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.09.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of AMAT traded down $1.01 on Wednesday, reaching $178.14. 5,830,671 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,036,457. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $180.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $166.80. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $215.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

About Applied Materials

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.