Hantz Financial Services Inc. Invests $5.96 Million in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 25,270 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,963,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,008,622 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $15,469,028,000 after purchasing an additional 891,446 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 22,005,192 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,566,418,000 after purchasing an additional 682,098 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,738,382 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,226,581,000 after purchasing an additional 224,296 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,260,630 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,322,280,000 after purchasing an additional 360,002 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $1,514,814,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $197.26 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The company has a market capitalization of $163.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.56. The business has a 50-day moving average of $214.90 and a 200-day moving average of $211.36.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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 that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the director now 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total transaction of $554,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 76,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,890,103.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 62,327 shares of company stock valued at $15,338,110 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.14.

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.