Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Position Cut by Pure Financial Advisors LLC

Pure Financial Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 32.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,612 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 775 shares during the quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $380,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. RFP Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 96.6% during the 1st quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT traded down $3.93 on Friday, reaching $207.90. 11,644,577 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,003,964. The firm has a market cap of $172.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.97. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $222.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $209.40.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced 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 $2.01 by $0.11. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $1,597,650.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 78,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,767,230.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $1,597,650.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 78,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,767,230.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday. B. Riley dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Raymond James raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.56.

Applied Materials Company 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.