Lyell Wealth Management LP Raises Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Lyell Wealth Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,308 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,764,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 89.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,988 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,121,000 after acquiring an additional 4,239 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.4% in the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,350 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $699,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Balentine LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 19,263 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,122,000 after acquiring an additional 3,538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Calton & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $243,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other 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 sale, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Also, 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 value of $12,458,500.00. Following the transaction, 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. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on 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 reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.95.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $188.47 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $204.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $210.80. 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 $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. 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 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Applied Materials’s 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.