Retirement Guys Formula LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Retirement Guys Formula LLC cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 11.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,034 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 775 shares during the quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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 stock was 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 in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total transaction of $554,050.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 76,212 shares in the company, valued at $16,890,103.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of Applied Materials 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 transaction, the insider now owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560 over the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded up $2.45 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $243.31. The stock had a trading volume of 2,768,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,211,725. The company has a market capitalization of $201.45 billion, a PE ratio of 27.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $221.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $197.51. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $249.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.00 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS 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. 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 0.66%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. B. Riley increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $210.00 in a report on Monday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.84.

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.