180 Wealth Advisors LLC Has $2.35 Million Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

180 Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 6.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,133 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,008 shares during the period. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thrive Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 13.1% in the second quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,886 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the period. Selective Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $250,000. ARS Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% during the second quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC now owns 21,157 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,058,000 after buying an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the second quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. now owns 64,692 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $9,351,000 after buying an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.7% in the second quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 220,621 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,889,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514 shares in the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 18th. Berenberg Bank raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 18th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $158.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. Finally, Redburn Partners began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, June 13th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. 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 company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 69,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,869,568. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.00, for a total transaction of $1,420,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 69,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,869,568. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded up $1.80 during trading on Monday, hitting $140.05. 1,387,521 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,027,966. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $145.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $131.99. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.12 and a 1-year high of $155.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.89%.

Applied Materials Company 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.