Beacon Capital Management LLC Has $120,000 Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Beacon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 94.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 583 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the period. Beacon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $120,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. RFP Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 96.6% in the 1st quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $1,597,650.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 78,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,767,230.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. Susquehanna increased their target price on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Bank of America raised their price target on Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.84.

Applied Materials Stock Down 7.6 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded down $16.08 during trading on Thursday, reaching $196.12. The stock had a trading volume of 6,715,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,809,544. The company has a market capitalization of $162.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $228.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $207.27. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

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.