Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Raises Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,839,715 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 59,910 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.46% of Applied Materials worth $906,134,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $502,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 4,182 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $276,000. Finally, Financial Advocates Investment Management grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 63.6% during 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 period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $12,458,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $188.47 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $204.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $210.80. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $129.21 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $155.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. 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 report on Monday, June 17th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. B. Riley dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Barclays upgraded shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $165.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Seven 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.95.

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.