Vantage Point Financial LLC Sells 114 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Vantage Point Financial LLC lessened its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 6.8% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,553 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 114 shares during the period. Vantage Point Financial LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $225,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 972.2% during the first quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “mixed” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT opened at $169.46 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $159.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $162.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.99 billion, a PE ratio of 20.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.67.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program 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 repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is 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.