Foundry Partners LLC Trims Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Foundry Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 12.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & 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 approximately 1.1% of Foundry Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Foundry Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $20,913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,514,814,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth approximately $773,611,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3,940.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,175,766 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $352,626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,121,912 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,259,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 123.5% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,976,914 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $407,699,000 after acquiring an additional 1,092,429 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. B. Riley dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.14.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials 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 in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.9 %

NASDAQ AMAT traded down $5.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $175.08. 1,695,674 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,023,676. 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.96 billion, a PE ratio of 20.72, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a 50 day moving average of $211.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

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.