Kowal Investment Group LLC Purchases 175 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Kowal Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 6.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,039 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Kowal Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $627,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, First United Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Bank of America raised their price target on Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.84.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $12,458,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.2 %

AMAT traded up $0.40 during trading on Monday, hitting $236.39. 2,618,574 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,761,268. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $218.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $196.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.04, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $249.42.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.00 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

Applied Materials Company 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.