Atlas Capital Advisors LLC Sells 2,612 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Atlas Capital Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,521 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,612 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,135,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $502,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,892 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its position in Applied Materials by 115.0% in the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 2,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 1,096 shares during the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 4,182 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $678,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 19,931 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,230,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. B. Riley reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $210.00 in a report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Applied Materials from $223.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.14.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $4.28 during trading on Friday, reaching $197.26. 7,311,741 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,009,392. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $215.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $211.28. 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 firm has a market cap of $163.33 billion, a PE ratio of 22.67, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The firm 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 firm posted $1.90 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 62,327 shares of company stock valued at $15,338,110 in the last quarter. 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.