Diversified Trust Co Buys 3,858 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 15.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,858 shares during the quarter. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,809,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, First United Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 78,712 shares in the company, valued at $16,767,230.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $1,597,650.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 78,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,767,230.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $0.42 on Monday, hitting $235.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,812,975 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,754,412. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $218.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $196.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $195.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.56. 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 data on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. The firm 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 revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays upgraded Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 17th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.