Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Exchange Capital Management Inc.

Exchange Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,681 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 259 shares during the period. Exchange Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,997,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $191,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Advisors lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 5,217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $846,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Breakwater Capital Group lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 1,445 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Mechanics Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 3,957 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $641,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,496 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $729,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upgraded shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were 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 owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560 in the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $2.33 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $239.74. 1,481,280 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,740,706. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.80. The company has a market cap of $198.50 billion, a PE ratio of 27.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.56. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $218.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $196.10. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $129.21 and a twelve month high of $249.42.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.