LGT Group Foundation Boosts Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

LGT Group Foundation boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 54.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 92,724 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,629 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $21,882,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Liberty Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,923 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,174,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Choreo LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 171.1% during the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 24,749 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,874,000 after buying an additional 15,619 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% during the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 18,241 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,305,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Roof Eidam Maycock Peralta LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 465.9% during the 2nd quarter. Roof Eidam Maycock Peralta LLC now owns 7,725 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,823,000 after acquiring an additional 6,360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential PLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 124,291 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $29,331,000 after acquiring an additional 23,927 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $1.42 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $176.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 800,583 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,036,445. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $129.21 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $209.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $211.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The stock has a market cap of $145.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.55.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion during 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%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Citigroup cut their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped 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 note on Friday, August 16th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.14.

About Applied Materials

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.