Range Financial Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Range Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,423 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Range Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $293,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, First United Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $229.84 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $215.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $193.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $190.30 billion, a PE ratio of 26.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 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 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $249.42.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the transaction, 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. In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the transaction, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.84.

Applied Materials Company 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.