Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Position Increased by Cooper Financial Group

Cooper Financial Group increased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,791 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the quarter. Cooper Financial Group’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $576,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. Paragon Capital Management Ltd purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $223,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.4% in the first 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 period. &PARTNERS boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 203.9% in the first quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 8,226 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,711,000 after buying an additional 5,519 shares during the period. MJP Associates Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at $263,000. Finally, Sebold Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials by 4.6% during the first quarter. Sebold Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,919 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $396,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $1,597,650.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 78,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,767,230.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total value of $554,050.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 76,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,890,103.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $1,597,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 78,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,767,230.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 80,000 shares of company stock worth $19,057,000 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $233.00 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.97. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $249.42. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $214.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $193.29. The company has a market capitalization of $192.92 billion, a PE ratio of 27.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on AMAT. B. Riley raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays raised shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. 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 target price 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.