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

Foundry Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,617 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 12,671 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up 1.1% of Foundry Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Foundry Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $20,913,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $502,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the period. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 4,182 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $678,000 after buying an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 32,033 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,192,000 after buying an additional 5,658 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 9,423 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,527,000 after buying an additional 628 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of AMAT traded down $5.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $175.08. 1,695,674 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,023,676. The company has a market cap of $144.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $211.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $211.29.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. 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. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Applied Materials from $223.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.14.

About Applied Materials

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.