Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Position Increased by New Age Alpha Advisors LLC

Key Points

• New Age Alpha Advisors LLC significantly increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. by 38,693.3%, acquiring an additional 5,804 shares, bringing its total holdings to 5,819 shares worth approximately $844,000.
• Applied Materials recently reported earnings of $2.39 per share, surpassing analyst expectations, with revenues of $7.10 billion, reflecting a 6.8% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46, with a payout date of September 11th, contributing to an annualized dividend yield of 1.0%.

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 38,693.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,819 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,804 shares during the quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $844,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in 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 worth $1,663,780,000 after buying an additional 1,602,645 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,954,305 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $968,349,000 after buying an additional 484,133 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 37.0% in the 4th quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,913,942 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $636,524,000 after buying an additional 1,056,787 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,636,546 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $591,412,000 after buying an additional 678,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 2,401.0% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,066,817 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $445,056,000 after buying an additional 2,944,193 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on AMAT. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT traded up $1.72 on Friday, hitting $184.87. The stock had a trading volume of 4,338,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,090,117. The company's 50-day moving average is $182.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.56. The stock has a market cap of $148.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.70. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $215.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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 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 analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

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.