Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. Sells 95 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,549 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 95 shares during the quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 56.0% during the 2nd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $177.55 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $146.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.41, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $208.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.26. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 quarter last year, the business earned $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on AMAT. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.14.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.