PFG Investments LLC Has $2.43 Million Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

PFG Investments LLC lessened its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 14.5% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10,299 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,748 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 96.6% in the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $174.75 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $144.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.55. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $255.89. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $209.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.42.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 currently 18.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup reduced 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 report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, B. Riley dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.