Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Position Raised by Horizon Investment Services LLC

Horizon Investment Services LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 38,294 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up 4.3% of Horizon Investment Services LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Horizon Investment Services LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $9,037,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Business Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $263,000. Unison Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Unison Asset Management LLC now owns 29,294 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $6,913,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 42.6% during the 2nd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $667,000 after acquiring an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $225,000. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 1,504 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $180.24 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $211.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. The company has a market capitalization of $149.23 billion, a PE ratio of 20.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 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.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.90 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.14.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was 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 directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was 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 directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.