Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report) by 3.8% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,645 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 314 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,255,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AMAT. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 target price on Applied Materials and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. B. Riley lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Seven 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, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.76.

Read Our Latest Report on AMAT

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $190.86 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46. The stock has a market cap of $153.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.69. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $166.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.80.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 0.96%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 22.38%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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