Annex Advisory Services LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Annex Advisory Services LLC decreased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 40.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,426 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 13,048 shares during the period. Annex Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,819,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “mixed” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.48.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $161.93 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $151.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $163.31. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.