Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by Winthrop Advisory Group LLC

Winthrop Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,784 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 90 shares during the quarter. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $368,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 645.8% during the first quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. now owns 977 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 846 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.7% during the first quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 97,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $20,151,000 after buying an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. Opinicus Capital Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.8% in the first quarter. Opinicus Capital Inc. now owns 7,286 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,503,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. WD Rutherford LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 105.0% in the first quarter. WD Rutherford LLC now owns 2,851 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $588,000 after acquiring an additional 1,460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 75.0% during the 1st quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 700 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $144,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Susquehanna upped their price target on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, B. Riley increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.84.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 78,712 shares in the company, valued at $16,767,230.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total transaction of $4,446,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560 in the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded up $3.46 on Friday, hitting $235.99. 6,387,433 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,592,667. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $249.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $195.39 billion, a PE ratio of 27.13, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $218.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $195.83.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.39%.

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.