Arjuna Capital Has $6.68 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Arjuna Capital lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 19.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,284 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,633 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for 1.8% of Arjuna Capital’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Arjuna Capital’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,675,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Modera Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,179 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,166,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Research LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Research LLC now owns 159,783 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,707,000 after buying an additional 4,682 shares during the period. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.1% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 3,214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $758,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Scott & Selber Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% during the second quarter. Scott & Selber Inc. now owns 12,919 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,049,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays raised shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. B. Riley decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.14.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $16,890,103.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 62,327 shares of company stock worth $15,338,110. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded up $4.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $197.26. 7,311,741 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,009,392. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $129.21 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $163.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.56. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $215.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $211.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

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.