Claro Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Claro Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,910 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 162 shares during the quarter. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,219,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, First United Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of AMAT traded up $1.42 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $237.41. The company had a trading volume of 4,238,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,774,771. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $218.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $196.10. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $249.42. The company has a market capitalization of $196.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.56.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.84.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $1,597,650.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 78,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,767,230.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $1,597,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 78,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,767,230.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.