LVW Advisors LLC Acquires 563 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

LVW Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 18.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 563 shares during the period. LVW Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Breakwater Capital Group increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 1,445 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $2,432,000. Avalon Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $216,000. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $320,000. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,044 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $638,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $237.41 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $218.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $196.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.29, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of 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 assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.84.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total transaction of $4,446,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.