InTrack Investment Management Inc Trims Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

InTrack Investment Management Inc lowered its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 71.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,552 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,795 shares during the quarter. InTrack Investment Management Inc’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $224,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $930,505,000. Cowa LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 79,147.5% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,726,422 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $557,639,000 after purchasing an additional 5,719,196 shares during the period. Providence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,700,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 53.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 12,263,246 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,194,195,000 after purchasing an additional 4,277,485 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $144.57 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.12 and a 1 year high of $155.26. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $144.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $131.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 2.30. The firm has a market cap of $121.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.60.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 17th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.16. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 49.29% and a net margin of 24.27%. The firm had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 7.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.04, for a total transaction of $150,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 106,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,907,690.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.00, for a total transaction of $1,420,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 69,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,869,568. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.04, for a total value of $150,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 106,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,907,690.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $152.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $150.41.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. It 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.