SFE Investment Counsel Sells 1,393 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

SFE Investment Counsel reduced its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,177 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,393 shares during the quarter. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,008,622 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $15,469,028,000 after purchasing an additional 891,446 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 682,098 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,738,382 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,226,581,000 after buying an additional 224,296 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.3% during the 1st 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 buying an additional 360,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $1,514,814,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Monday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.14.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $174.75 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $144.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.56. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $209.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.12.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.