Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. Acquires 577 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 22.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,142 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 577 shares during the period. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, First United Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $1,597,650.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now 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 is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total value of $554,050.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 76,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,890,103.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $1,597,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 78,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,767,230.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.84.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $235.99 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $218.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $195.56. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $195.39 billion, a PE ratio of 27.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $249.42.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.00 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.