Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) is Quantbot Technologies LP’s 7th Largest Position

Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 284.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,284 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 37,196 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up 0.6% of Quantbot Technologies LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $10,370,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. Aldebaran Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $211,000. Sycomore Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 55.6% during the 4th quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 33,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,437,000 after purchasing an additional 11,825 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $7,274,000. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $1,764,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 132.7% during the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,704 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,707,000 after purchasing an additional 9,527 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.84.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded up $2.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $243.40. 5,395,710 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,685,383. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $201.53 billion, a PE ratio of 28.33, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $226.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $200.84. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total transaction of $4,446,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

About Applied Materials

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.