Morse Asset Management Inc Decreases Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Morse Asset Management Inc reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,002 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 675 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises 1.3% of Morse Asset Management Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,950,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. RFP Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 96.6% during the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

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 value of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were 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 owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on AMAT. Bank of America upped their target price on Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. B. Riley increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.84.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT traded up $4.15 during trading on Friday, hitting $206.47. 5,208,974 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,394,189. The company has a market capitalization of $170.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.56. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $229.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $206.53. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.00 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 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.