Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Bought by Monument Capital Management

Monument Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,941 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 91 shares during the quarter. Monument Capital Management’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, First United Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560 over the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on AMAT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their target price 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 restated an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Barclays upgraded Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.84.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $243.31 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $220.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $197.19. 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 capitalization of $201.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.97, a PEG 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 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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.39%.

Applied Materials 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.