PFG Advisors Purchases 1,779 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

PFG Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 99.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,570 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 1,779 shares during the quarter. PFG Advisors' holdings in Applied Materials were worth $518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Skye Global Management LP bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,862,000. Value Partners Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 9,896 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,608,000 after buying an additional 793 shares in the last quarter. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at about $230,000. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 71,577 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $11,640,000 after buying an additional 9,672 shares during the period. Finally, Humankind Investments LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. Humankind Investments LLC now owns 1,503 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $2.43 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $185.69. The company had a trading volume of 6,580,937 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,161,150. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $215.70. The company's 50 day moving average price is $177.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $166.59. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $149.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.69.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. The company's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

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.