Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by CFO4Life Group LLC

CFO4Life Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 16.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,581 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,077 shares during the period. CFO4Life Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,151,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $1,514,814,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Applied Materials by 3,940.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,175,766 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $352,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,121,912 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 123.5% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,976,914 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $407,699,000 after purchasing an additional 1,092,429 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,117,176 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,012,171,000 after purchasing an additional 973,218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,623,048 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $953,411,000 after buying an additional 784,780 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the business’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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 78,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,767,230.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 78,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,767,230.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was 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 directly owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock traded up $6.95 on Friday, reaching $248.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,020,830 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,667,534. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $226.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $200.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The company has a market capitalization of $205.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AMAT. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.84.

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.