Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by Beacon Capital Management LLC

Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 94.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 583 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 283 shares during the quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $120,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,008,622 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $15,469,028,000 after acquiring an additional 891,446 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 22,005,192 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,566,418,000 after purchasing an additional 682,098 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,738,382 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,226,581,000 after purchasing an additional 224,296 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,260,630 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,322,280,000 after purchasing an additional 360,002 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,514,814,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report 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 MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.84.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $12,458,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total transaction of $4,446,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560 over the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Down 7.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $16.08 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $196.12. The company had a trading volume of 6,715,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,809,544. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $228.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $207.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $162.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.22, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The firm 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 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research 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 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. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

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.