Mather Group LLC. Lowers Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Mather Group LLC. trimmed its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 19.5% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 15,128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,656 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $1,514,814,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth approximately $773,611,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3,940.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,175,766 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $352,626,000 after buying an additional 2,121,912 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 126.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $464,974,000 after buying an additional 1,259,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 123.5% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,976,914 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $407,699,000 after buying an additional 1,092,429 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Raymond James raised their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.00.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total transaction of $4,446,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at $24,091,873.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, 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 transaction of $554,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 76,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,890,103.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total transaction of $4,446,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $1.42 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $183.31. 5,798,478 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,916,108. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $226.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $208.31. The firm has a market cap of $151.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.80.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio 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.