Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC Sells 6,868 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Key Points

• Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. by 39.1% in Q1, selling 6,868 shares and holding 10,690 shares valued at $1,551,000.
• Several institutional investors increased their positions, including Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc., which raised its stake by 972.2%, highlighting ongoing interest in the stock.
• Applied Materials reported Q2 earnings of $2.39 per share, exceeding the analysts' expectations of $2.31, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, effective September 11.

Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 39.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,690 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 6,868 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% during the 1st quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on AMAT. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.09.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock traded down $0.49 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $184.38. The company had a trading volume of 7,813,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,234,765. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $215.70. The company has a 50 day moving average of $182.16 and a 200-day moving average of $166.39. The firm has a market cap of $147.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.70.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.