Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC Sells 119 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

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

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Aldebaran Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $211,000. Sycomore Asset Management raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 11,825 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $7,274,000. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,764,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 9,527 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $240.86 on Wednesday. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $249.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $219.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $196.63. The company has a market capitalization of $199.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.69, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.56.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $16,767,230.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $1,597,650.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 78,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,767,230.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560 over the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Six investment 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.84.

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.