Amalgamated Bank Cuts Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Amalgamated Bank trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.3% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 177,782 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,272 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $41,955,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tredje AP fonden increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.0% during the second quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 224,119 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $52,890,000 after acquiring an additional 2,233 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 27,254 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,432,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106 shares in the last quarter. Argent Trust Co increased its position in Applied Materials by 28.4% during the 2nd quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 12,119 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,860,000 after purchasing an additional 2,682 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 717.5% during the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 140,633 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,188,000 after buying an additional 123,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, L & S Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,069,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. B. Riley lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.00.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $188.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $201.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $210.55. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.68, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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.