OneAscent Financial Services LLC Takes Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

OneAscent Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,900 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $422,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Copperwynd Financial LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 5,074 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $736,000 after buying an additional 595 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 119,771 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $17,381,000 after buying an additional 1,031 shares during the period. Calton & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,669,000. Rule One Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,177,000. Finally, Formidable Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 5,294 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $768,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.8%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $187.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.77, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $175.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $166.02. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $221.95. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. Applied Materials's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 22.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.74.

Applied Materials Company 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.

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