Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Has $19.56 Million Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.3% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 82,897 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,096 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $19,563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Menard Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 23.6% in the second quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 3,970 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $937,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. Perissos Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $844,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,839,715 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $906,134,000 after purchasing an additional 59,910 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $337,000. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.9 %

AMAT opened at $188.47 on Monday. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The company’s 50-day moving average is $204.08 and its 200 day moving average is $210.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.66, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.90 EPS. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of Applied Materials 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 sale, the insider now owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Applied Materials news, 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 sale, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of Applied Materials 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $223.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.95.

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.