Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by Fortem Financial Group LLC

Fortem Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 13.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,904 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,367 shares during the quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,727,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,603,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after buying an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,530 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $737,000 after acquiring an additional 926 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 12,957 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,107,000 after buying an additional 2,410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 38,220 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $6,216,000 after buying an additional 8,630 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $197.93 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $171.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $164.98. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $248.81. The company has a market cap of $158.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.08, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.76.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 22.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AMAT. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $225.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.65.

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.