Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 35,415 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,123,931 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,415 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.14% of Applied Materials worth $265,236,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,764,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 89.3% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,988 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,121,000 after purchasing an additional 4,239 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $699,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Balentine LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 3,538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Calton & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $243,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.14.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $180.24 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $211.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.29. The stock has a market cap of $149.23 billion, a PE ratio of 20.72, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 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.