Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Lowers Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 22.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,016,945 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 883,647 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.36% of Applied Materials worth $711,923,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 56.0% in the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $188.47 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $204.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $210.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $255.89. 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 (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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related 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 owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Applied Materials from $223.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.95.

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.