Grandfield & Dodd LLC Increases Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Grandfield & Dodd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 222,158 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,648 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up 2.0% of Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $32,240,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Skye Global Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,862,000. Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 9,896 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,608,000 after purchasing an additional 793 shares during the period. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $230,000. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 71,577 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $11,640,000 after purchasing an additional 9,672 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,538,743 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $250,246,000 after purchasing an additional 13,667 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.1%

Applied Materials stock opened at $199.29 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $159.93 billion, a PE ratio of 24.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.69. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $173.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $165.38. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $247.52. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Citigroup increased their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Barclays decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.74.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.