Prosperity Consulting Group LLC Acquires 350 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Prosperity Consulting Group LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 14.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,785 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $657,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $502,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 11.1% during 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 period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 5.5% during 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. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $276,000. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $300,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Barclays upgraded shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target 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. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, B. Riley reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.95.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.9 %

AMAT opened at $188.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The company’s 50-day moving average is $204.08 and its 200 day moving average is $210.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.66, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 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, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of Applied Materials 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 $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Company 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.