Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Sells 1,125 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lowered its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 11.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,540 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,125 shares during the quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,761,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Finally, First United Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on AMAT. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. UBS Group raised their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI started coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.84.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $1,597,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 78,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,767,230.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $234.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $193.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.73, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $249.42. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $216.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $194.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.54 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

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.