Aspiriant LLC Purchases 138 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Aspiriant LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,927 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the quarter. Aspiriant LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,429,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Aldebaran Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $211,000. Sycomore Asset Management increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 55.6% during the 4th quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 33,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,437,000 after acquiring an additional 11,825 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,274,000. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $1,764,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 132.7% in the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,704 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,707,000 after purchasing an additional 9,527 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.84.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.2 %

Applied Materials stock opened at $232.53 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $216.53 and a 200 day moving average of $194.73. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $249.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.80. The stock has a market cap of $192.53 billion, a PE ratio of 26.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 available at this hyperlink. In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560 in the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.