Conning Inc. Acquires 264 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Conning Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,054 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,797,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% in the first quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, B. Riley cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.76.

View Our Latest Report on Applied Materials

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $190.86 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.17 billion, a PE ratio of 23.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $166.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $163.80.

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

Applied Materials announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 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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