Custom Index Systems LLC Acquires 349 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Custom Index Systems LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 16.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,518 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the period. Custom Index Systems LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $502,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 4,182 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $678,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 38,846 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $6,296,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First City Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $208,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $174.75 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $144.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $209.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.27.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on AMAT. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $210.00 in a report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.14.

About Applied Materials

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.