Prentice Wealth Management LLC Invests $275,000 in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Prentice Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,333 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $275,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,514,814,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,121,912 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $12,012,171,000 after buying an additional 973,218 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 40.0% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,724,217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $441,514,000 after purchasing an additional 778,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 22,005,192 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,566,418,000 after buying an additional 682,098 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.84.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of AMAT stock traded down $2.34 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $231.93. 1,946,650 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,770,098. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $249.42. The company has a market cap of $192.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.56. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $215.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $194.47.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given 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 0.69%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated 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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related 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 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 approximately $16,767,230.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials 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.