Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Romano Brothers AND Company

Romano Brothers AND Company decreased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 12,000 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 110 shares during the period. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,475,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $1,514,814,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Applied Materials by 3,940.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,175,766 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $352,626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,121,912 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,117,176 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $12,012,171,000 after acquiring an additional 973,218 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 40.0% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,724,217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $441,514,000 after acquiring an additional 778,716 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 22,005,192 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,566,418,000 after purchasing an additional 682,098 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded up $3.46 during trading on Friday, hitting $235.99. The company had a trading volume of 6,387,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,592,667. The company has a market cap of $195.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.13, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.80. The business’s 50-day moving average is $218.22 and its 200 day moving average is $195.83. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $249.42.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $1,597,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 78,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,767,230.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560 over the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI started coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.84.

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.