Plan Group Financial LLC Buys 1,834 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Key Points

• Plan Group Financial LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. by 76.4% in the first quarter, purchasing an additional 1,834 shares and bringing its total holdings to 4,236 shares valued at $615,000.
• Applied Materials reported a quarterly EPS of $2.39, exceeding the consensus estimate of $2.31, while revenue reached $7.10 billion, a 6.8% increase year-over-year.
• A quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share has been declared, representing an annualized dividend of $1.84 and a yield of 1.0%, with the record date set for August 21st.

Plan Group Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 76.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,236 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares during the period. Plan Group Financial LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Skye Global Management LP purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $45,862,000. Value Partners Investments Inc. boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 793 shares during the period. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth about $230,000. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 9,672 shares during the period. Finally, Humankind Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. Humankind Investments LLC now owns 1,503 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $182.82 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $180.42 and its 200 day moving average is $166.71. The stock has a market cap of $146.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.70. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $215.70. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 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 firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 declared 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. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AMAT. 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 price objective for the company. Redburn Atlantic cut Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $225.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price target (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.09.

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.

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