Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. Increases Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report) by 0.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 53,186 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up 2.7% of Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $7,718,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Skye Global Management LP bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $45,862,000. Value Partners Investments Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 9,896 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,608,000 after buying an additional 793 shares in the last quarter. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth about $230,000. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 71,577 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $11,640,000 after acquiring an additional 9,672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Argentarii LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $471,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. B. Riley decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “mixed” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.76.

Get Our Latest Report on AMAT

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.4%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $190.01 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $165.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.69.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Applied Materials Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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