Avalon Capital Management Takes Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Avalon Capital Management bought a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,046 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Aldebaran Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $211,000. Sycomore Asset Management raised its stake in Applied Materials by 55.6% during the 4th quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 33,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,437,000 after acquiring an additional 11,825 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,274,000. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,764,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 132.7% during the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,704 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,707,000 after acquiring an additional 9,527 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $3.46 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $235.99. 6,387,433 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,592,667. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $218.22 and its 200-day moving average is $195.83. The stock has a market cap of $195.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.97. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $129.21 and a 1-year high of $249.42.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total transaction of $4,446,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was 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 directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560 in the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.