Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stake Boosted by Breakwater Capital Group

Breakwater Capital Group increased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,445 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the quarter. Breakwater Capital Group’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, First United Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen raised their target price on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Raymond James raised their target price on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.84.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $235.99 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $218.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $196.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $129.21 and a 1-year 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.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. The firm 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 was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm 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. 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 0.68%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total transaction of $554,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 76,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,890,103.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total value of $554,050.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 76,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,890,103.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials 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.