Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. cut its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,485 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,218 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,347,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Raymond James upped their target price on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $220.04.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total transaction of $554,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 76,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,890,103.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related 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 value of $554,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 76,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,890,103.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,000 shares of company stock worth $6,598,500 over the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $242.86 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $243.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $212.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $190.61. The company has a market capitalization of $201.08 billion, a PE ratio of 27.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.54 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.00 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid 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 yield of 0.66%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.39%.

Applied Materials Company 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.