Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC

Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,024 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,894,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 96.6% in the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AMAT. B. Riley lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $223.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the company’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 sale, 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 available through this link. In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the 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 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. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.9 %

AMAT opened at $188.47 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $255.89. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $204.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $210.65.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current 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.