Isthmus Partners LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Isthmus Partners LLC lowered its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,255 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 6,153 shares during the quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $159,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 96.6% in the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded down $5.49 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $174.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,887,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,066,871. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $255.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $209.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $211.12. The stock 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays upgraded Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.14.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other 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 transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.