Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stake Increased by Phraction Management LLC

Phraction Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 30.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,794 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 6,960 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 1.4% of Phraction Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Phraction Management LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 3,734 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,061 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $173,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 977 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $159,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Fourpath Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Fourpath Capital Management LLC now owns 9,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,388,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Enterprises LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Enterprises LLC now owns 2,132 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company's 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $200.76.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded up $0.85 during trading on Friday, hitting $190.86. The stock had a trading volume of 3,568,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,077,976. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The business has a fifty day moving average of $166.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $163.80. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $153.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.22, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.69.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 22.38%.

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.