Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Purchases 12,129 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 299,246 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,129 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $70,619,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Norges Bank bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $1,514,814,000. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $773,611,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 3,940.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,175,766 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $352,626,000 after buying an additional 2,121,912 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 126.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $464,974,000 after buying an additional 1,259,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 123.5% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,976,914 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $407,699,000 after acquiring an additional 1,092,429 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 completion of the sale, 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. Insiders sold a total of 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $223.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.14.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT traded up $1.53 on Monday, reaching $209.43. 2,974,188 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,984,950. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $222.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $210.02. The firm has a market cap of $173.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.80. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.90 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.39%.

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.