Accredited Investors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Accredited Investors Inc. lessened its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,756 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 99 shares during the quarter. Accredited Investors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,122,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Aldebaran Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $211,000. Sycomore Asset Management boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 55.6% during the 4th quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 33,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,437,000 after purchasing an additional 11,825 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth $1,764,000. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 37,821 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $6,130,000 after purchasing an additional 6,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 89.3% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,988 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,121,000 after purchasing an additional 4,239 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of AMAT stock traded up $3.04 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $210.94. 5,279,537 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,999,440. The business’s fifty day moving average is $222.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $210.33. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $174.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio 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.