1,381 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Bought by Narus Financial Partners LLC

Narus Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,381 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% during the 1st quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT traded down $0.10 on Friday, reaching $197.93. The company had a trading volume of 4,423,891 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,109,438. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $171.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $164.98. The company has a market cap of $158.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.69. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $248.81.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. Applied Materials's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.46 dividend. 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 currently 22.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on AMAT. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. B. Riley decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday. They set a "buy" rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $203.65.

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.