56,478 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Purchased by AMF Tjanstepension AB

AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 56,478 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $13,333,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. JT Stratford LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 10,890 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,246,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $191,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 5,217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $846,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 6,041 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,246,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IMPACTfolio LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. IMPACTfolio LLC now owns 3,155 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $745,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total value of $554,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 76,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,890,103.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560 over the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. B. Riley upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Mizuho increased their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.00.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT traded down $4.80 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $178.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,645,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,920,971. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $129.21 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $225.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $208.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.90%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

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.