Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Sells 2,174 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. cut its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,110 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 2,174 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at $44,000. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.2% in the first quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 9,182 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,332,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,323,000 after purchasing an additional 2,996 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 38,693.3% in the first quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 5,819 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $844,000 after acquiring an additional 5,804 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plan Group Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 76.4% in the first quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC now owns 4,236 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $615,000 after buying an additional 1,834 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $1.72 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $184.87. 4,338,229 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,230,918. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $181.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $166.81. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $215.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.36 billion, a PE ratio of 22.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 22.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on AMAT. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. B. Riley cut their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.09.

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.