Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 25.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,562 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,490 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,580,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 253,078 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,602,645 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $1,588,422,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 587,036 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 price objective on Applied Materials and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. B. Riley cut their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.74.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $2.29 on Thursday, hitting $192.52. 5,702,458 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,128,002. The firm's 50-day moving average is $175.19 and its 200 day moving average is $165.79. The company has a market capitalization of $154.50 billion, a PE ratio of 23.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.69. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $224.09. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company's 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Company 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.