Diversify Advisory Services LLC Decreases Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Diversify Advisory Services LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 35.6% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,157 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,193 shares during the quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $542,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Aldebaran Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $211,000. Sycomore Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 55.6% in the 4th quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 33,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,437,000 after buying an additional 11,825 shares during the period. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,764,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 37,821 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,130,000 after acquiring an additional 6,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 5.4% in the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,350 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $699,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded up $0.63 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $191.18. 5,050,766 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,933,131. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $224.06 and a 200-day moving average of $208.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.00 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Bank of America upped their price target on Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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