Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Position Lifted by Willis Investment Counsel

Willis Investment Counsel grew its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 165,236 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises 1.5% of Willis Investment Counsel’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $23,883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Monterey Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $204,000. Peoples Financial Services CORP. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 23.6% in the 2nd quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 6,351 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $918,000 after purchasing an additional 1,213 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 100,045 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $14,461,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 31,739 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,588,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 39.3% in the 2nd quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 5,779 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $835,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded down $6.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $138.25. The company had a trading volume of 13,654,571 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,054,903. The company has a current ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $116.07 billion, a PE ratio of 18.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $145.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $131.89. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.12 and a 1-year high of $155.26.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 16.89%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 10,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 69,504 shares in the company, valued at $9,869,568. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.04, for a total value of $150,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 106,023 shares in the company, valued at $15,907,690.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 10,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Berenberg Bank raised their price target on Applied Materials from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $185.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and issued a $158.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday. Citigroup raised their target price on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 14th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on Applied Materials from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twenty-two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $150.41.

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.