Angeles Investment Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Angeles Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,430 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $337,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 96.6% in the 1st quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on AMAT. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $223.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.5 %

AMAT opened at $187.58 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $154.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.56, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $202.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $210.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.90 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 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, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

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.