Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Buys 72 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,886 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,626,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,117,176 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,012,171,000 after purchasing an additional 973,218 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Applied Materials by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 22,005,192 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,566,418,000 after purchasing an additional 682,098 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Applied Materials by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,738,382 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,226,581,000 after purchasing an additional 224,296 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Applied Materials by 6.0% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,995,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,383,848,000 after purchasing an additional 570,080 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,514,814,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $243.31 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $249.42. The firm has a market cap of $201.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.56. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $220.13 and its 200 day simple 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.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.00 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.84.

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.