Motiv8 Investments LLC Sells 151 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Motiv8 Investments LLC cut its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,466 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 151 shares during the period. Motiv8 Investments LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $818,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,008,622 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $15,469,028,000 after acquiring an additional 891,446 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 22,005,192 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,566,418,000 after buying an additional 682,098 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,738,382 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,226,581,000 after buying an additional 224,296 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,514,814,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $5.49 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $174.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,887,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,066,871. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $209.96 and its 200-day moving average is $211.12. 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 firm has a market cap of $144.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The business 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 business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays raised shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. B. Riley decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.14.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

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

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.