Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Bought by Kovack Advisors Inc.

Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,847 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 99 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $587,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded up $2.45 on Thursday, hitting $243.31. The company had a trading volume of 2,768,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,211,725. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $249.42. The company has a market cap of $201.45 billion, a PE ratio of 27.97, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.56. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $220.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $197.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.97.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AMAT. B. Riley upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Six investment 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.84.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 available at this link. In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $16,767,230.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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. Insiders sold a total of 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.