Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,989 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 71 shares during the quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,764,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 89.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,988 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,121,000 after acquiring an additional 4,239 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,350 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $699,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Balentine LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 19,263 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,122,000 after purchasing an additional 3,538 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Calton & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth $243,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on AMAT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $223.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Barclays raised shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.14.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock traded down $5.49 on Friday, hitting $174.75. The company had a trading volume of 8,887,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,066,871. The firm has a market cap of $144.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.55. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $129.21 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $209.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $211.27. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 value of $2,325,559.55. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.