Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 10.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,695 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 5,493 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $11,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy CG LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy CG LLC now owns 29,950 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,068,000 after buying an additional 2,374 shares during the last quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 12.5% in the second quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 9,269 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,031 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,630 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,801,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services grew its position in Applied Materials by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 14,866 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.1% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 602,496 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $142,183,000 after buying an additional 6,435 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AMAT. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Citigroup decreased 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.14.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of AMAT stock traded up $2.96 on Wednesday, hitting $209.12. The stock had a trading volume of 4,459,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,982,831. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $221.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $210.59. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $173.15 billion, a PE ratio of 24.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.56.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors 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 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.