Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC Has $351,000 Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 51.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,486 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,561 shares during the period. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $35,000. RFP Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 96.6% in the 1st quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.9 %

NASDAQ AMAT traded down $3.93 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $207.90. 11,644,577 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,003,964. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $129.21 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $222.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $209.40. The firm has a market cap of $172.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.90, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given 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 0.77%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on AMAT. Barclays raised Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen raised their target price 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. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.56.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total transaction of $4,446,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $1,597,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 78,712 shares in the company, valued at $16,767,230.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total transaction of $4,446,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials 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.