Belpointe Asset Management LLC Acquires 1,232 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 38.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,409 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,232 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,041,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,008,622 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $15,469,028,000 after acquiring an additional 891,446 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in 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 valued at $3,566,418,000 after purchasing an additional 682,098 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in 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 valued at $2,226,581,000 after purchasing an additional 224,296 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.3% in 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 buying an additional 360,002 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,514,814,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $180.24 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $149.23 billion, a PE ratio of 20.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.56. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $211.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.29. 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 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays upgraded Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $165.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $12,458,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $12,458,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.