Plancorp LLC Decreases Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Plancorp LLC lowered its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,813 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 91 shares during the period. Plancorp LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $664,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 96.6% in the 1st quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’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 owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $187.58 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $155.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $202.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $210.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. StockNews.com lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, B. Riley lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.86.

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.