Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Aveo Capital Partners LLC

Aveo Capital Partners LLC lessened its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 994 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 76 shares during the quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $235,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 891,446 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 682,098 shares during the period. 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 raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,260,630 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,322,280,000 after purchasing an additional 360,002 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $1,514,814,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America upped their price target on Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Mizuho upped their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.14.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $180.24 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $211.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.29. 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 $149.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $12,458,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $12,458,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.