SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC Lowers Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC decreased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 53.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,450 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 5,206 shares during the period. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,050,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 96.6% in the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $186.14 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $200.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $210.38. 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 $154.12 billion, a PE ratio of 21.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $129.21 and a 1-year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased 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. B. Riley decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $232.00.

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.