SYM FINANCIAL Corp Grows Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

SYM FINANCIAL Corp raised its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 76.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,199 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 950 shares during the period. SYM FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $519,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. JT Stratford LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.4% in the first quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 10,890 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,246,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.6% in the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $191,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.3% in the second quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 1,556 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 4,016 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $948,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.7% in the second quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $223.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $232.68.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $183.21 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.69 billion, a PE ratio of 21.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.55. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $205.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $210.76. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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

Insider Activity 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 transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’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 approximately $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.