SP Asset Management LLC Acquires 374 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

SP Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 24,415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 374 shares during the period. SP Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,762,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 56.0% in the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $178.05 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $207.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $211.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.55. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.90 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Susquehanna upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

About Applied Materials

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.