Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,868 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the quarter. Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $441,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 96.6% in 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 and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT traded down $5.49 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $174.75. The stock had a trading volume of 8,887,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,066,871. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $209.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.27. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $144.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.55. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.90 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.14.

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.