Golden State Wealth Management LLC Purchases 5,280 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 122.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,581 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,280 shares during the quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,391,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 972.2% during the 1st quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $48,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.24.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $183.07 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $146.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.67. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $161.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $163.14. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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

Applied Materials announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.