Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Raises Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.5%, acquiring an additional 10,488 shares, bringing its total to 724,949 shares valued at approximately $105.2 million.
• Institutional investors collectively own 80.56% of Applied Materials, with significant increases in holdings from firms like Northern Trust Corp and Pacer Advisors Inc.
• Applied Materials reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.39, exceeding the consensus estimate by $0.08, while also announcing a dividend payment of $0.46 to be issued in September.

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 724,949 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 10,488 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned approximately 0.09% of Applied Materials worth $105,205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 2,401.0% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,066,817 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $445,056,000 after purchasing an additional 2,944,193 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $2,647,430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,814,444 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings 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 worth $1,663,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602,645 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $318,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471,953 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings 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 worth $219,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335,180 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.0%

AMAT stock traded down $0.07 on Friday, hitting $179.99. 8,391,962 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,876,455. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $215.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $179.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $166.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46. The stock has a market cap of $144.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $205.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.