M&R Capital Management Inc. Buys 110 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

M&R Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 110.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 210 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. M&R Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $30,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $930,505,000. Cowa LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $76,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 79,147.5% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,726,422 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $557,639,000 after purchasing an additional 5,719,196 shares during the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth $38,700,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 53.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 12,263,246 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,194,195,000 after purchasing an additional 4,277,485 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $144.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 2.30. The firm has a market cap of $121.37 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.60. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $71.12 and a one year high of $155.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $144.98 and a 200 day moving average of $131.51.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 17th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.16. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.27% and a return on equity of 49.29%. The firm had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 7.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 24th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 16.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of several research reports. Redburn Partners assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Applied Materials from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 19th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $185.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $150.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.00, for a total value of $1,420,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 69,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,869,568. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.00, for a total value of $1,420,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 69,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,869,568. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.04, for a total transaction of $150,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 106,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,907,690.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. It 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.