Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Holdings Lowered by Balentine LLC

Balentine LLC trimmed its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 96.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 860 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 21,147 shares during the period. Balentine LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,514,814,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at $773,611,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3,940.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,175,766 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $352,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,121,912 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 126.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $464,974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259,111 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,117,176 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,012,171,000 after buying an additional 973,218 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Raymond James upped their target price on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com cut Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 value of $2,325,559.55. Following the transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $12,458,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $177.55 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $146.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.55. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $208.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $211.26.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

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.