Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV Raises Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 40.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 709 shares during the period. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $358,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KG&L Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 5.3% in the first quarter. KG&L Capital Management LLC now owns 16,014 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,324,000 after buying an additional 808 shares during the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.0% in the first quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,735 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $542,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 40.8% during the first quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 13,934 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,023,000 after acquiring an additional 4,038 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 43.6% in the first quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,822 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generate Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth $5,495,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Seven 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 company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.6%

AMAT stock opened at $183.07 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $161.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.14. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $146.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.89.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 22.38%.

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

Applied Materials Profile

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.