Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by Plato Investment Management Ltd

Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,870 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,848 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises about 0.9% of Plato Investment Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $9,645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 891,446 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in 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 worth $3,566,418,000 after purchasing an additional 682,098 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,738,382 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,226,581,000 after buying an additional 224,296 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,260,630 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,322,280,000 after buying an additional 360,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $1,514,814,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $188.47 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $204.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $210.71. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $155.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director now 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 through the SEC website. In related news, 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 transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director now 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 through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $12,458,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. B. Riley dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $223.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.95.

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.