Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Bought by Nisa Investment Advisors LLC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 23.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 642,644 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 121,720 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC owned about 0.08% of Applied Materials worth $93,260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% during the first quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $0.10 on Friday, reaching $197.93. 4,423,891 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,116,318. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.69. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $248.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business has a fifty day moving average of $171.91 and a 200-day moving average of $164.95.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 target price on Applied Materials and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. B. Riley lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Barclays lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus 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.