Acadian Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 218.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 825,308 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 566,516 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Applied Materials worth $170,182,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,008,622 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $15,469,028,000 after purchasing an additional 891,446 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 22,005,192 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,566,418,000 after buying an additional 682,098 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Applied Materials by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,738,382 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,226,581,000 after acquiring an additional 224,296 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 3.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,260,630 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,322,280,000 after acquiring an additional 360,002 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $1,514,814,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director now directly 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $7.39 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $210.26. 6,517,081 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,310,802. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $129.21 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $229.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $204.00. The stock has a market cap of $174.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.17, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.00 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. B. Riley upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Barclays raised shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” 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 MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.84.

Applied Materials 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.