Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Has $13.39 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lowered its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 15.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,943 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 12,242 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $13,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Aldebaran Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $211,000. Sycomore Asset Management increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 55.6% in the 4th quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 33,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,437,000 after buying an additional 11,825 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $7,274,000. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $1,764,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 132.7% in the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,704 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,707,000 after buying an additional 9,527 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total transaction of $554,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 76,212 shares in the company, valued at $16,890,103.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total transaction of $4,446,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,091,873.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total transaction of $554,050.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 76,212 shares in the company, valued at $16,890,103.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 17th. Mizuho increased their target price on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.84.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $234.27 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $249.42. The company has a market capitalization of $193.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $215.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $194.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.80.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.00 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given 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 yield of 0.68%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

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.