Impax Asset Management Group plc Lowers Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Impax Asset Management Group plc cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.3% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,572,750 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 143,071 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises approximately 2.5% of Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $606,299,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 56.0% during the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AMAT. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.14.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded down $3.54 on Friday, hitting $176.70. The company had a trading volume of 307,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,017,000. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $129.21 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $211.19 and a 200-day moving average of $211.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.56.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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 $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.