Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC Sells 71 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC decreased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,989 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 71 shares during the period. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 56.0% during the 2nd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $223.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.14.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $5.49 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $174.75. The stock had a trading volume of 8,887,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,066,871. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.69 billion, a PE ratio of 20.09, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.55. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $209.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $211.27. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, 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 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.