GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,399 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,221 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,522,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,514,814,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth approximately $773,611,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3,940.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,175,766 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $352,626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,121,912 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position 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 worth $464,974,000 after acquiring an additional 1,259,111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,117,176 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $12,012,171,000 after acquiring an additional 973,218 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Applied Materials from $223.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Mizuho increased their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $232.68.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was 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 owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.9 %

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $188.47 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $155.37 billion, a PE ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $204.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $210.65.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.