Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by Romano Brothers AND Company

Romano Brothers AND Company increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,472 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,803,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1,666.7% in the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 212 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Chelsea Counsel Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Steward Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 173.9% in the first quarter. Steward Financial Group LLC now owns 252 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, M&R Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 110.0% in the second quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 210 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded down $3.28 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $136.99. 2,715,435 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,032,238. The company has a market cap of $115.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.60. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $145.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 2.30. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $71.12 and a 52 week high of $155.26.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.15 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.27% and a return on equity of 49.29%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 7.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 21st. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley increased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $150.41.

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.