Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,274 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 288 shares during the quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $15,469,028,000 after purchasing an additional 891,446 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.2% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.7% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 224,296 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.3% in 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 buying an additional 360,002 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $1,514,814,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.84.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $1,597,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 78,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,767,230.24. 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 in the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT traded up $1.17 on Tuesday, hitting $206.74. 418,252 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,716,757. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $129.21 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $171.17 billion, a PE ratio of 23.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.56. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $229.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $206.91.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

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.