Nicolet Advisory Services LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,827 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Applied Materials by 40.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 53,854 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,456,000 after purchasing an additional 15,637 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $71,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 5,731 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $854,000 after acquiring an additional 788 shares during the period. LexAurum Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $203,000. Finally, FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 98.1% in the fourth quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,122 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $506,000 after acquiring an additional 1,546 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded down $7.39 during trading on Friday, reaching $210.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,517,081 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,310,802. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $229.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $204.00. The firm has a market cap of $174.09 billion, a PE ratio of 24.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 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 $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.84.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the company’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 owns 78,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,767,230.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 78,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,767,230.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.