Raymond James Trust N.A. Boosts Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,454 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,178 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $18,986,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 56.0% during the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 96.6% during 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 last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company 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 for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.14.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $1,597,650.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 78,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,767,230.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $1,597,650.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 78,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,767,230.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded up $2.47 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $202.67. The company had a trading volume of 5,296,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,982,489. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a 50 day moving average of $219.68 and a 200 day moving average of $211.31. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.