Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Position Lifted by Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc.

Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 38.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 529,519 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 145,891 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up about 3.8% of Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Applied Materials worth $76,844,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,603,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 25,448 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,504,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 15,444 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,512,000 after purchasing an additional 2,130 shares during the period. Finally, Rodgers Brothers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. now owns 2,420 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.17.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $188.41 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $151.20 billion, a PE ratio of 22.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.69. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $215.70. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $178.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $166.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

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.