Strategic Investment Advisors MI Sells 257 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Strategic Investment Advisors MI cut its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.0% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,906 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 257 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Advisors MI’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $712,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 3,734 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,061 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $173,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 3,062 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $498,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 977 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fourpath Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% in the first quarter. Fourpath Capital Management LLC now owns 9,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,388,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. 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 research note on Friday, May 16th. B. Riley dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $162.00 to $158.00 in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.24.

Applied Materials Stock Up 4.8%

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $180.18 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company has a 50-day moving average of $160.35 and a 200 day moving average of $163.00. The firm has a market cap of $144.59 billion, a PE ratio of 21.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.76.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 22.38%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 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.