Sage Mountain Advisors LLC Has $831,000 Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Sage Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 35.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,723 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,509 shares during the quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $831,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 972.2% during the first quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $55,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. B. Riley cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 price target on Applied Materials and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. 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 stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.74.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock traded down $0.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $191.93. 1,334,417 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,105,244. The company has a market capitalization of $154.02 billion, a PE ratio of 23.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.69. The business has a fifty day moving average of $175.19 and a 200 day moving average of $165.79. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $224.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.