Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Wallace Advisory Group LLC

Wallace Advisory Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 17.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,678 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 352 shares during the period. Wallace Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $346,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,117,176 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $12,012,171,000 after buying an additional 973,218 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 22,005,192 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,566,418,000 after acquiring an additional 682,098 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,738,382 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,226,581,000 after acquiring an additional 224,296 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Applied Materials by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,995,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,383,848,000 after purchasing an additional 570,080 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,514,814,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at $24,091,873.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $1,597,650.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 78,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,767,230.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on AMAT. Barclays upgraded Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Raymond James raised their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.84.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $234.27 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $193.97 billion, a PE ratio of 26.93, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.80. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $215.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $194.47. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $249.42.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.00 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.39%.

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.