First National Bank of South Miami Sells 278 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

First National Bank of South Miami lessened its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,211 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 278 shares during the period. First National Bank of South Miami’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $320,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $14,465,000. American National Bank increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.1% during the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 42,570 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $6,153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,287 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 37.7% during the second quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,661 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 728 shares in the last quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $227,000. Finally, Ignite Planners LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.0% during the second quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 2,315 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $140.27 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $145.04 and a 200-day moving average of $131.99. 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 stock has a market cap of $117.76 billion, a PE ratio of 18.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.60. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $71.12 and a 52-week high of $155.26.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 17th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.16. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.27% and a return on equity of 49.29%. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 7.9 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Investors of record on Friday, November 24th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 16.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. New Street Research downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $158.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday. Finally, Craig Hallum raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $139.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $150.41.

About Applied Materials

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.