Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Position Boosted by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,839,715 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 59,910 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $906,134,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth $337,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 91,056 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $21,488,000 after acquiring an additional 1,446 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 88.7% during the 2nd quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 61,346 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $14,477,000 after purchasing an additional 28,835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 40,870 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $9,645,000 after purchasing an additional 1,848 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT opened at $188.47 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $204.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $210.80. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $155.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. B. Riley cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.95.

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.