Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp Buys 543 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,202 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 543 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,485,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $1,514,814,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings 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 valued at $352,626,000 after buying an additional 2,121,912 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 40.0% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,724,217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $441,514,000 after acquiring an additional 778,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its position in Applied Materials by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 22,005,192 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,566,418,000 after acquiring an additional 682,098 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $210.00 in a report on Monday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.84.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the company’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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $235.99 on Friday. 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 $195.39 billion, a PE ratio of 27.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $249.42. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $218.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $195.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.00 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.