Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. Raises Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,585 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $846,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. SP Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% during the second quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 24,415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,762,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $475,000. STAR Financial Bank increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. STAR Financial Bank now owns 2,052 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,020 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 13,637 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,218,000 after buying an additional 1,248 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other 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 value of $12,458,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the 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 $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on AMAT. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.14.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $178.05 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a fifty day moving average of $207.51 and a 200-day moving average of $211.13. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

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.