STF Management LP Reduces Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

STF Management LP reduced its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,240 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 614 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up approximately 1.3% of STF Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. STF Management LP’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,125,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related 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 transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the completion of 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 this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Barclays raised shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $223.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.95.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.9 %

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $188.47 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $204.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $210.80. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $155.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

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.