Ritholtz Wealth Management Grows Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,823 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 133 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at about $1,764,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 89.3% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,988 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,121,000 after buying an additional 4,239 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,350 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $699,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $611,000. Finally, Balentine LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 19,263 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,122,000 after acquiring an additional 3,538 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’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 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 this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total value of $554,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 76,212 shares in the company, valued at $16,890,103.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 62,327 shares of company stock valued at $15,338,110. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $197.26 on Monday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $162.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.56. The company’s 50-day moving average is $214.90 and its 200 day moving average is $211.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09.

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 return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.90 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AMAT. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Applied Materials from $223.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.14.

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.