Stablepoint Partners LLC Sells 1,344 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Stablepoint Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 17.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,254 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,344 shares during the quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,476,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,008,622 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $15,469,028,000 after buying an additional 891,446 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 22,005,192 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,566,418,000 after acquiring an additional 682,098 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Applied Materials by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,738,382 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,226,581,000 after purchasing an additional 224,296 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Applied Materials by 3.3% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,260,630 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,322,280,000 after purchasing an additional 360,002 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,514,814,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on 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 $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total transaction of $554,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 76,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,890,103.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’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 owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 62,327 shares of company stock valued at $15,338,110. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $182.38 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $212.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $211.51. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.01 billion, a PE ratio of 20.96, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.90 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.47 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Susquehanna increased 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. Raymond James upped 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $223.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.14.

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.