Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Takes $284,000 Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,378 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $284,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, First United Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $232.53 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $216.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $194.73. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $249.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $192.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.73, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated 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. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen raised their target price on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction of $1,597,650.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 78,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,767,230.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’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 completion of 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of Applied Materials 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 78,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,767,230.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.