Motiv8 Investments LLC Sells 151 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Motiv8 Investments LLC lessened its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,466 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 151 shares during the period. Motiv8 Investments LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $818,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth $1,764,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 89.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,988 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,121,000 after acquiring an additional 4,239 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,350 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $699,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Balentine LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 19,263 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,122,000 after purchasing an additional 3,538 shares during the period. Finally, Calton & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth about $243,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT traded down $5.49 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $174.75. 8,887,931 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,066,871. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.56. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $209.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.12.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other 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 value of $12,458,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal 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 on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $12,458,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on AMAT. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $223.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently 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.