William Allan Corp Grows Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

William Allan Corp increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 4.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 50,659 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 2,091 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 4.6% of William Allan Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. William Allan Corp's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $7,352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Skye Global Management LP bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,862,000. Value Partners Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 9,896 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,608,000 after purchasing an additional 793 shares in the last quarter. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 71,577 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $11,640,000 after buying an additional 9,672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,538,743 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $250,246,000 after buying an additional 13,667 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction 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 approximately $946,580. This 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. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AMAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.74.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $190.44 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.69. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $175.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $224.09.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. Applied Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend 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.

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