Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

by · The Cerbat Gem

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 37,188 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,032 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,397,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,039,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $12,528,961,000 after purchasing an additional 487,358 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,079,451 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,260,178,000 after purchasing an additional 253,078 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Applied Materials by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,663,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,602,645 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,588,422,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in Applied Materials by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,338,520 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,356,094,000 after acquiring an additional 587,036 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the completion of 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Edward Jones raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. B. Riley decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.24.

Read Our Latest Report on AMAT

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.2%

AMAT stock opened at $183.21 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $147.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.29, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.67. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $163.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $163.32.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given 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 1.00%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 22.38%.

Applied Materials Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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