Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management

Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management lowered its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 10.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 965 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 112 shares during the period. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,514,814,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $773,611,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3,940.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,175,766 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $352,626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,121,912 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 126.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $464,974,000 after buying an additional 1,259,111 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 123.5% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,976,914 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $407,699,000 after acquiring an additional 1,092,429 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $12,458,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $12,458,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. 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 note on Friday, May 17th. Raymond James upped their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $223.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.14.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded down $5.49 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $174.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,887,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,066,871. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $209.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $211.27. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $144.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.55.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.39%.

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.