Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by LRI Investments LLC

LRI Investments LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 140.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 917 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 535 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $216,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tower Bridge Advisors grew its position in Applied Materials by 31.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors now owns 3,700 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $873,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 11.2% during the second quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 13,352 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,151,000 after buying an additional 1,345 shares during the last quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $598,000. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 20.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,824 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $666,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Herold Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $665,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the insider now owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560 over the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $202.67 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.81 billion, a PE ratio of 23.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $219.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $211.03. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on AMAT. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Applied Materials from $223.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. B. Riley lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.14.

About Applied Materials

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.