Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 25.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,414 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,519 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises 1.1% of Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,794,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 18,113 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,764,000 after acquiring an additional 2,108 shares during the period. Chelsea Counsel Co. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Silicon Valley Capital Partners acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Mcdonald Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $204,000. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 109.7% in the fourth quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 4,931 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $480,000 after buying an additional 2,580 shares in the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on AMAT. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $158.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 21st. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $150.41.

Applied Materials Stock Down 4.4 %

Shares of AMAT traded down $6.32 during trading on Friday, reaching $138.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 13,654,571 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,054,903. The company has a market cap of $116.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a fifty day moving average of $145.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $131.60. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $71.12 and a twelve month high of $155.26.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 16.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Applied Materials Profile

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.