Harbor Island Capital LLC Lowers Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Harbor Island Capital LLC cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 214,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 18,550 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up 20.2% of Harbor Island Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Harbor Island Capital LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $44,143,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aldebaran Financial Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $211,000. Sycomore Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 55.6% in the fourth quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 33,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,437,000 after buying an additional 11,825 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $7,274,000. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $1,764,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 132.7% during the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,704 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,707,000 after acquiring an additional 9,527 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Bank of America upped their price target on Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.84.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.6 %

AMAT traded up $1.42 during trading on Monday, hitting $237.41. The company had a trading volume of 4,237,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,774,767. The company has a market capitalization of $196.57 billion, a PE ratio of 27.10, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $249.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $218.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $196.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The firm 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 business earned $2.00 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total transaction of $4,446,800.00. Following the transaction, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 78,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,767,230.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total transaction of $4,446,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560. Insiders own 0.29% 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.