Perissos Private Wealth Management LLC Invests $844,000 in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Perissos Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,578 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $844,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $502,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials by 11.1% during the 4th 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 lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $276,000. Finally, Financial Advocates Investment Management increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 63.6% in the fourth quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 4,141 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $671,000 after acquiring an additional 1,610 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.9 %

AMAT opened at $188.47 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $155.37 billion, a PE ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $129.21 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $204.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $210.80. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’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 transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.