Caprock Group LLC Has $4.51 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Caprock Group LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 39.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,099 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,422 shares during the quarter. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 96.6% during the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $223.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $12,458,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 3.0 %

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $174.75 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.55. The business’s fifty day moving average is $209.96 and its 200-day moving average is $211.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.92%. 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.