ASB Consultores LLC Sells 559 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

ASB Consultores LLC lessened its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 16.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,858 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 559 shares during the period. ASB Consultores LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $674,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services bought a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $1,764,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 89.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,988 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,121,000 after purchasing an additional 4,239 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 worth $699,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Calton & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at about $243,000. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 17.3% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 23,949 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,939,000 after buying an additional 3,529 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $196.71 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $162.87 billion, a PE ratio of 22.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $199.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $210.28.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. B. Riley cut their price target 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $232.00.

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.