Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by Sunbelt Securities Inc.

by · The Markets Daily

Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report) by 200.4% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,896 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 972.2% during the first 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. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock opened at $183.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $147.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.29, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $163.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $163.27. 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 quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last posted 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 22.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. B. Riley lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.24.

View Our Latest Stock Report on Applied Materials

About Applied Materials

(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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