Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC

Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC lowered its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 6.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,753 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 119 shares during the quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Security Advisor Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Dash Acquisitions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 74.2% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,853 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% in the first quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 1,527 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 66.2% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 535,439 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $110,424,000 after purchasing an additional 213,299 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the transaction, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $12,458,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.84.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.5 %

Applied Materials stock opened at $240.86 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $129.21 and a 1-year high of $249.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The stock has a market cap of $199.42 billion, a PE ratio of 27.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.56. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $219.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $196.63.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.