Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by NBC Securities Inc.

NBC Securities Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,700 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 277 shares during the quarter. NBC Securities Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aldebaran Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $211,000. Sycomore Asset Management raised its stake 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 worth $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 worth $7,274,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $2,707,000 after buying an additional 9,527 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 37,821 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $6,130,000 after buying an additional 6,001 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, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 78,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,767,230.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 78,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,767,230.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 30,000 shares of company stock worth $6,598,500. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $247.83 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $213.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $191.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.97. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $249.42. The company has a market capitalization of $205.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.56.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid 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 0.65%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Barclays raised Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $220.04.

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.