Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,541 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 58 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 96.6% during the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Raymond James upped their target price on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $232.68.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $183.21 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $205.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $210.76. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $129.21 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $151.69 billion, a PE ratio of 21.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.55.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.90 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials 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.