Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Ceeto Capital Group LLC

Ceeto Capital Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 40.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,000 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. Ceeto Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $619,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,008,622 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $15,469,028,000 after purchasing an additional 891,446 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 22,005,192 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,566,418,000 after buying an additional 682,098 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Applied Materials by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,738,382 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,226,581,000 after acquiring an additional 224,296 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,260,630 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,322,280,000 after acquiring an additional 360,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,514,814,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $4.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $206.47. 5,208,974 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,394,189. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $229.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $170.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.56.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $12,458,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560 over the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen raised their price target on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Susquehanna raised their target price on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. B. Riley upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.84.

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.