Bayesian Capital Management LP Has $1.74 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Bayesian Capital Management LP cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 45.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 7,085 shares during the period. Bayesian Capital Management LP’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,735,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,687 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $760,000 after buying an additional 445 shares during the period. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH increased its position in Applied Materials by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 17,343 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,811,000 after purchasing an additional 2,818 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,670 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $595,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $236,000. Finally, ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd increased its position in Applied Materials by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 8,119 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,316,000 after purchasing an additional 676 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 78,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,767,230.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on AMAT. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. B. Riley upped their price target on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Six equities research 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.84.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock traded down $9.61 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $195.96. The stock had a trading volume of 4,353,866 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,743,899. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $229.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $206.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $162.25 billion, a PE ratio of 23.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 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 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 company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.00 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.82%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 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.