233 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Purchased by Ridgewood Investments LLC

Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 233 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $55,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,764,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 89.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,988 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,121,000 after acquiring an additional 4,239 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5.4% during the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,350 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $699,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $611,000. Finally, Balentine LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,538 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 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 research note on Monday, June 17th. B. Riley lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.14.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 78,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,767,230.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 69,827 shares of company stock valued at $16,935,760. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $192.98. The stock had a trading volume of 6,728,288 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,998,269. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $216.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $211.41. The firm has a market cap of $159.78 billion, a PE ratio of 22.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.