TFB Advisors LLC Purchases New Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

TFB Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,529 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $297,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 206.2% in the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 444 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 167,868 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $23,241,000 after purchasing an additional 10,724 shares during the period. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,933 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $406,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $140,000. Finally, Savoie Capital LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $8,590,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price target on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Susquehanna increased 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Monday, May 13th. 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, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.84.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ AMAT traded up $3.50 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $254.97. The stock had a trading volume of 4,257,223 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,688,037. The stock has a market cap of $211.11 billion, a PE ratio of 29.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.56. 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 fifty day moving average price of $224.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $200.17.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.00 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Insider Activity

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 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s 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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560 in the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.