Rule One Partners LLC Takes Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Rule One Partners LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 15,000 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,177,000. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 0.9% of Rule One Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,588,422,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 18,402.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,824,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,647,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,814,444 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 18.6% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 301.6% during the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in Applied Materials by 10,767.6% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on AMAT. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price target (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.74.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT traded up $3.29 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $193.73. 2,285,987 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,099,597. The firm's fifty day moving average is $175.89 and its 200 day moving average is $166.02. The company has a market cap of $155.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.69. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $224.09. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.