Rehmann Capital Advisory Group Purchases 1,436 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 22.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,792 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,436 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,131,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $1,588,422,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 18,402.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,824,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,647,430,000 after buying an additional 1,814,444 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Applied Materials by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,663,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,602,645 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 301.6% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,959,997 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $318,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,471,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 10,767.6% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,347,580 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $219,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335,180 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AMAT. Redburn Atlantic lowered Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $225.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday. Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 target price on Applied Materials and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $203.65.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded up $2.64 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $198.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,228,717 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,102,871. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $170.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $164.56. The stock has a market cap of $158.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.69.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 company 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 company earned $2.09 EPS. Applied Materials's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 22.38%.

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.