Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC Has $441,000 Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,868 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the quarter. Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $441,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth approximately $1,764,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 89.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,988 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,121,000 after purchasing an additional 4,239 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 5.4% during the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,350 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $699,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Balentine LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 19,263 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,122,000 after buying an additional 3,538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Calton & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth about $243,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT traded down $5.49 during trading on Friday, reaching $174.75. 8,887,931 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,066,871. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $144.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.09, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $209.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $211.27.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Barclays raised shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’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 $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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.