Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Grows Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 794,431 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 16,839 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.10% of Applied Materials worth $115,288,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $1,588,422,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 18,402.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,824,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,647,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,814,444 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Applied Materials by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,663,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,602,645 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 301.6% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,959,997 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $318,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,471,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP grew its stake in Applied Materials by 10,767.6% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,347,580 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $219,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,335,180 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 target price (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $200.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.74.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded down $2.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $190.44. The company had a trading volume of 4,753,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,118,542. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $224.09. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $175.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $165.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.69.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

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.