Miracle Mile Advisors LLC Acquires 191 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,836 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kennedy Investment Group raised its position in Applied Materials by 11.9% during the second quarter. Kennedy Investment Group now owns 1,661 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,018 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth $80,000. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 10.3% in the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,135,739 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $975,993,000 after purchasing an additional 384,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Narus Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $204,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on AMAT. Barclays raised Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. B. Riley lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Mizuho boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.56.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT traded down $3.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $207.90. The stock had a trading volume of 11,644,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,003,964. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $222.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $209.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $172.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction 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 approximately $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $1,597,650.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 78,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,767,230.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560 in the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.