Occidental Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Occidental Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,752 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 669 shares during the quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,867,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, First United Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Barclays upgraded shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.84.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT traded up $3.46 on Friday, reaching $235.99. The stock had a trading volume of 6,387,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,592,667. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $249.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $218.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $195.56. The company has a market cap of $195.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. The company 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid 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 0.68%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

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.