Register Financial Advisors LLC Invests $134,000 in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 650 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $134,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, First United Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $235.99 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $218.22 and a 200 day moving average of $195.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $249.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $195.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.13, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly 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. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. 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 firm posted $2.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Mizuho upped their target price on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen upped 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.84.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,091,873.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 valued at $21,382,560. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.