Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,574 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises 0.9% of Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $7,749,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 1.3% during 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. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 682,098 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,738,382 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,226,581,000 after purchasing an additional 224,296 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 6.0% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,995,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,383,848,000 after purchasing an additional 570,080 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $1,514,814,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total transaction of $4,446,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock traded up $0.99 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $241.85. The stock had a trading volume of 524,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,715,610. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $129.21 and a twelve month high of $249.42. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $220.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $197.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $200.24 billion, a PE ratio of 27.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.00 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Barclays raised shares of 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 research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.84.

Applied Materials Company 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.