Salomon & Ludwin LLC Sells 143 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Salomon & Ludwin LLC lowered its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 52.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 130 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 143 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $31,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,345,000. Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter. Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,538 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.5% during the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 80,454 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $18,986,000 after buying an additional 1,178 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 810.0% in the second quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 35,916 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $8,476,000 after buying an additional 31,969 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optas LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 7.2% in the second quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $570,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock traded down $6.71 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $195.96. The stock had a trading volume of 3,337,951 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,966,435. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $162.25 billion, a PE ratio of 22.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.56. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $219.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.31. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’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 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on AMAT. UBS Group reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock 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 given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.14.

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.