Sen. John Boozman Sells Off Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Senator John Boozman (R-Arkansas) recently sold shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT). In a filing disclosed on January 14th, the Senator disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Applied Materials stock on December 23rd.

Senator John Boozman also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of JPMorgan BetaBuilders Europe ETF (BATS:BBEU) on 11/20/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (NYSEARCA:VWO) on 11/20/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of iShares MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan ETF (NASDAQ:AAXJ) on 11/20/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Skyworks Solutions (NASDAQ:SWKS) on 11/20/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) on 11/13/2024.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $173.65 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $149.84 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $173.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $191.74. The company has a market cap of $141.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.17, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on AMAT. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.24.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 29.8% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,327,707,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509,439 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $340,895,000 after acquiring an additional 164,085 shares during the last quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 47.0% in the third quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 67,915 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $13,722,000 after acquiring an additional 21,699 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,139,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $230,158,000 after purchasing an additional 15,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 62.6% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,698,282 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $343,138,000 after acquiring an additional 653,739 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Senator Boozman

John Boozman (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. Senate from Arkansas. He assumed office on January 3, 2011. His current term ends on January 3, 2029. Boozman (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the U.S. Senate to represent Arkansas. He won in the general election on November 8, 2022. Boozman won re-election in 2016. He faced Democrat Conner Eldridge, Libertarian Frank Gilbert, and write-in candidate Jason Tate in the general election. Arkansas’ U.S. Senate race was rated as safely Republican in 2016. Boozman began his political career in the U.S. House. He won a special election in 2001 and served in that position until his election to the Senate in 2010. Prior to his political career, Boozman worked as an optometrist. As of a 2014 analysis of multiple outside rankings, Boozman is an average Republican member of Congress, meaning he will vote with the Republican Party on the majority of bills. Below is an abbreviated outline of Boozman’s academic, professional, and political career: 2011-Present: U.S. Senator from Arkansas 2001-2011: U.S. Representative from Arkansas 1977: Graduated from Southern College of Optometry

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.