Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Bought by First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 10.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 19,101 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,731 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,939,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 11,822.8% in the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 19,911 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,757,000 after acquiring an additional 19,744 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 32,625 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,517,000 after purchasing an additional 4,105 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 149.8% in the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,137 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,234,000 after purchasing an additional 9,678 shares during the period. EHP Funds Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth approximately $263,000. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.3% in the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 395,193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $54,714,000 after purchasing an additional 1,018 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT traded up $2.45 on Thursday, reaching $243.31. The company had a trading volume of 2,768,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,211,725. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $221.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $197.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $201.45 billion, a PE ratio of 27.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $249.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.00 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.84.

Insider Activity

In other 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at $24,091,873.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total transaction of $554,050.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 76,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,890,103.44. 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 over the last quarter. Corporate 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.