Balentine LLC Has $203,000 Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Balentine LLC reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 96.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 860 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 21,147 shares during the quarter. Balentine LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $177.55 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $208.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.26. 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 capitalization of $146.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.55.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 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 company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly 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 corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.14.

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.