New York Life Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 127,251 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,045 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $30,030,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 96.6% during the 1st quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 available through this hyperlink. In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Barclays raised shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. B. Riley lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.14.

Applied Materials Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $174.75 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.09, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.56. 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. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $209.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $211.12.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Applied Materials Company 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.