Fortune Financial Advisors LLC Has $2.80 Million Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Fortune Financial Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 81 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 1.7% of Fortune Financial Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,795,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,084,186 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,199,817,000 after acquiring an additional 81,151 shares during the period. Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $459,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 6.9% during the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 3,585 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $846,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the period. SP Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% during the second quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 24,415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,762,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the period. Finally, AdvisorShares Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $475,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 4.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $185.94 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $153.29 billion, a PE ratio of 21.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.55. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company has a fifty day moving average of $206.36 and a 200-day moving average of $210.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target 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. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.14.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s 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 $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.