Avalon Capital Management Makes New $216,000 Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Avalon Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,046 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 6,999 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $969,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 22.9% during the 3rd quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 4,709 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $651,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $741,000. Caxton Associates LP purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,442,000. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 11,822.8% during the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 19,911 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,757,000 after acquiring an additional 19,744 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $3.46 on Friday, hitting $235.99. 6,387,433 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,592,667. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $218.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $195.83. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $249.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $195.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.13, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.00 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.84.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $1,597,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 78,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,767,230.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560 over the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company 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.