Miracle Mile Advisors LLC Acquires 507 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,029 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 507 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,891,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. 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 report on Friday, May 16th. Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.29.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $166.74 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $133.81 billion, a PE ratio of 21.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $152.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $163.11. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan 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 plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought 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. This represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.