Providence Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Providence Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 950 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $1,514,814,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth approximately $773,611,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Applied Materials by 3,940.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,175,766 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $352,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,121,912 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 126.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $464,974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259,111 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,117,176 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $12,012,171,000 after purchasing an additional 973,218 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $12,458,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays raised Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.95.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $188.47 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $204.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $210.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.37 billion, a PE ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business 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 quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.90 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

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.