New York Life Investment Management LLC Has $30.03 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 127,251 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,045 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $30,030,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JT Stratford LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 10,890 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,246,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.6% during the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $191,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co raised its stake in Applied Materials by 3.3% during the second quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 1,556 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its stake in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 4,016 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $948,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.7% in the second quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $12,458,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT opened at $174.75 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $255.89. 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 company has a market capitalization of $144.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.56. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $209.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.12.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released 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 business had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $223.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Barclays upgraded shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.