Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by Northwest Investment Counselors LLC

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 196.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,036 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,245,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Heritage Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 5,217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $846,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Mechanics Financial Corp increased its position in Applied Materials by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 3,957 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $641,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.5% in 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 last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Kaizen Financial Strategies raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Kaizen Financial Strategies now owns 3,733 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $3.41 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $232.00. 2,110,693 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,779,131. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $249.42. The company has a market cap of $192.09 billion, a PE ratio of 26.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.56. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $214.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $193.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued 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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.00 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $1,597,650.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 78,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,767,230.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total transaction of $554,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 76,212 shares in the company, valued at $16,890,103.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $1,597,650.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 78,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,767,230.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 80,000 shares of company stock valued at $19,057,000 over the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Evercore ISI began coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $210.00 in a report on Monday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.84.

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.