Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Invests $48.12 Million in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 203,922 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $48,124,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $35,000. RFP Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 96.6% during the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total value of $554,050.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 76,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,890,103.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total value of $554,050.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 76,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,890,103.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.3 %

AMAT traded up $0.63 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $191.18. 5,049,886 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,933,131. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $224.54 and a 200 day moving average of $208.09. The firm has a market cap of $158.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. B. Riley boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $215.00 to $210.00 in a report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.00.

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.