Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Bought by Veracity Capital LLC

Veracity Capital LLC raised its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,490 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 111 shares during the quarter. Veracity Capital LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $514,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at about $236,000. Marshall Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 11,889 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,452,000 after purchasing an additional 970 shares in the last quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 28.1% during the first quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 13,714 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,828,000 after purchasing an additional 3,012 shares during the last quarter. Park Edge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $1,267,000. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 10.0% in the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 19,101 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,939,000 after buying an additional 1,731 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $243.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $201.45 billion, a PE ratio of 27.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $249.42. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $222.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $197.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Barclays raised shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.