Courier Capital LLC Has $1.04 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Courier Capital LLC reduced its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,041 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 188 shares during the quarter. Courier Capital LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,040,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Aldebaran Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $211,000. Sycomore Asset Management increased its position in Applied Materials by 55.6% in the fourth quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 33,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,437,000 after purchasing an additional 11,825 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $7,274,000. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth about $1,764,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 132.7% in the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,704 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,707,000 after purchasing an additional 9,527 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. 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. Bank of America lifted 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. UBS Group raised their target price on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.84.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $235.99 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $218.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $195.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $249.42. The firm has a market cap of $195.39 billion, a PE ratio of 27.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 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.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $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 other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of the business’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 owns 76,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,890,103.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560 in the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.