DGS Capital Management LLC Buys 1,580 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

DGS Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 28.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,101 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,580 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,465,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 105.7% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 112,478 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $15,573,000 after acquiring an additional 57,791 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 9.2% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,035 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $836,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.4% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 32,201 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,458,000 after purchasing an additional 1,054 shares during the period. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 51,346 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,109,000 after acquiring an additional 8,371 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna upped their price target on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.84.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $12,458,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total transaction of $554,050.00. Following the transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $232.17 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $249.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $192.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.69, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $215.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.47.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.00 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

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.