Portside Wealth Group LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 27.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,688 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,858 shares during the quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,039,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $12,528,961,000 after purchasing an additional 487,358 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,079,451 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,260,178,000 after purchasing an additional 253,078 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Applied Materials by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,663,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602,645 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $1,588,422,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Applied Materials by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,338,520 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,356,094,000 after purchasing an additional 587,036 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock traded down $0.98 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $172.79. The stock had a trading volume of 6,129,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,972,240. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $154.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $163.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.66 billion, a PE ratio of 22.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, May 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.29.

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.