Rathbones Group PLC Acquires 28,835 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Rathbones Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 88.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 61,346 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,835 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $14,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $502,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 4,182 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $678,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $276,000. Finally, Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its position in Applied Materials by 63.6% in the 4th quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 4,141 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $671,000 after buying an additional 1,610 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AMAT. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, B. Riley lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.95.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.9 %

AMAT stock opened at $188.47 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $204.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $210.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.37 billion, a PE ratio of 21.66, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $129.21 and a 1-year high of $255.89. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released 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 the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% 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.