Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Acquired by Golden State Wealth Management LLC

Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,447 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $645,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% in the 1st quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $55,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Edward Jones raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.76.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $190.86 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.17 billion, a PE ratio of 23.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.69. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $167.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $163.94.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About Applied Materials

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