Pflug Koory LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Pflug Koory LLC reduced its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 210 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises 1.8% of Pflug Koory LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Pflug Koory LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jacobi Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 18,785 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,055,000 after purchasing an additional 6,364 shares in the last quarter. Skye Global Management LP bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,862,000. Cable Hill Partners LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 3,485 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth approximately $230,000. Finally, Value Partners Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 9,896 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,608,000 after purchasing an additional 793 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

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

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $170.59 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $156.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $163.09. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $136.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “mixed” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.29.

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.