L & S Advisors Inc Purchases New Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

L & S Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 13,005 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,069,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,186 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,528,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,340,000. Madison Wealth Partners Inc increased its stake in Applied Materials by 6.1% in the second quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 1,775 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Arvest Trust Co. N A increased its stake in Applied Materials by 2,860.8% in the second quarter. Arvest Trust Co. N A now owns 68,364 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $16,133,000 after purchasing an additional 66,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 27.2% in the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 16,072 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,793,000 after purchasing an additional 3,437 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the transaction, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $187.58 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $202.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $210.70. The firm has a market cap of $155.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on AMAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup cut their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.86.

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.