Marcum Wealth LLC Increases Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Marcum Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,880 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Heritage Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 5,217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $846,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 3,957 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $641,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,496 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $729,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 15,262 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,474,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kaizen Financial Strategies lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Kaizen Financial Strategies now owns 3,733 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $605,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total value of $554,050.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 76,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,890,103.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total value of $554,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 76,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,890,103.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,000 shares of company stock worth $6,598,500 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Evercore ISI started coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.84.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $235.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.80. The firm has a market cap of $194.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.56. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $214.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $192.95. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $249.42.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.00 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

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.