Aviance Capital Partners LLC Acquires 3,731 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 156.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,109 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,731 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,260,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Norges Bank bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $1,514,814,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3,940.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,175,766 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $352,626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,121,912 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,117,176 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $12,012,171,000 after acquiring an additional 973,218 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 40.0% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,724,217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $441,514,000 after acquiring an additional 778,716 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 22,005,192 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,566,418,000 after purchasing an additional 682,098 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $237.41 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $218.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $196.10. The company has a market cap of $196.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $129.21 and a twelve month high of $249.42.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.00 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.84.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at $24,091,873.04. 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. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.