Nilsine Partners LLC Sells 517 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Nilsine Partners LLC cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,755 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 517 shares during the period. Nilsine Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,028,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.0%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $169.46 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $135.99 billion, a PE ratio of 20.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $159.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $163.08. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.