Triad Wealth Partners LLC Takes $80,000 Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 339 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $80,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. RFP Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 96.6% during the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on AMAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $223.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, B. Riley lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Six research 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now 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 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 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $3.93 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $207.90. 11,644,577 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,003,964. The company has a market capitalization of $172.14 billion, a PE ratio of 23.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.56. 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 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.80. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $222.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $209.40.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.