Welch & Forbes LLC Sells 156 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Welch & Forbes LLC lowered its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.1% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,100 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 156 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,030,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grandfield & Dodd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 7.6% during the first quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 222,158 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $32,240,000 after purchasing an additional 15,648 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 40.8% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,406,235 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $204,073,000 after acquiring an additional 407,364 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 17,523 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,543,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $1,277,000. Finally, Tectonic Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 12,655 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,836,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $194.81 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $156.34 billion, a PE ratio of 23.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.69. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $233.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $174.46 and its 200-day moving average is $165.59. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 22.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. B. Riley cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.74.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.