Achmea Investment Management B.V. Grows Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. grew its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 126,916 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $29,951,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,008,622 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $15,469,028,000 after purchasing an additional 891,446 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 22,005,192 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,566,418,000 after buying an additional 682,098 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Applied Materials by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,738,382 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,226,581,000 after acquiring an additional 224,296 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,260,630 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,322,280,000 after acquiring an additional 360,002 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $1,514,814,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group decreased their target price 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 target on Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.14.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $185.94 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The business has a fifty day moving average of $206.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $210.95. The stock has a market cap of $153.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of Applied Materials 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.