Insigneo Advisory Services LLC Has $1.16 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Insigneo Advisory Services LLC lessened its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 10.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,898 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 553 shares during the quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT opened at $197.31 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $255.89. 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 company has a market capitalization of $162.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $196.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $209.98.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AMAT. Citigroup lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Barclays raised shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.05.

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.