Sen. John Boozman Sells Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares

Senator John Boozman (R-Arkansas) recently sold shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT). In a filing disclosed on January 14th, the Senator disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Applied Materials stock on December 23rd.

Senator John Boozman also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of JPMorgan BetaBuilders Europe ETF (BATS:BBEU) on 11/20/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (NYSEARCA:VWO) on 11/20/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of iShares MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan ETF (NASDAQ:AAXJ) on 11/20/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Skyworks Solutions (NASDAQ:SWKS) on 11/20/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) on 11/13/2024.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $178.32 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.84 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $173.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $191.74. The company has a market capitalization of $145.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.24.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 3,365 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $584,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. Smith Salley Wealth Management boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 1,334 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Krilogy Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 14,388 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,340,000 after purchasing an additional 2,784 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,457 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,327,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480 shares during the period. Finally, Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 8,762 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,425,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

About Senator Boozman

John Boozman (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. Senate from Arkansas. He assumed office on January 3, 2011. His current term ends on January 3, 2029. Boozman (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the U.S. Senate to represent Arkansas. He won in the general election on November 8, 2022. Boozman won re-election in 2016. He faced Democrat Conner Eldridge, Libertarian Frank Gilbert, and write-in candidate Jason Tate in the general election. Arkansas’ U.S. Senate race was rated as safely Republican in 2016. Boozman began his political career in the U.S. House. He won a special election in 2001 and served in that position until his election to the Senate in 2010. Prior to his political career, Boozman worked as an optometrist. As of a 2014 analysis of multiple outside rankings, Boozman is an average Republican member of Congress, meaning he will vote with the Republican Party on the majority of bills. Below is an abbreviated outline of Boozman’s academic, professional, and political career: 2011-Present: U.S. Senator from Arkansas 2001-2011: U.S. Representative from Arkansas 1977: Graduated from Southern College of Optometry

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.