Transcend Capital Advisors LLC Has $892,000 Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 29.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,145 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,411 shares during the quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% during the 1st quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded up $0.69 on Tuesday, hitting $183.76. The stock had a trading volume of 6,569,873 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,053,618. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $164.03 and a 200 day moving average of $163.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.36, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.69. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $255.89. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect 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 initiated a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 22.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $200.76.

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.