Rathbones Group PLC Has $14.48 Million Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Rathbones Group PLC lifted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 88.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,346 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,835 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $14,477,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at $35,000. RFP Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 96.6% in the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $188.47 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $204.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $210.80. 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 firm has a market cap 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. B. Riley dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.