Sandy Cove Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Sandy Cove Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,397 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 56 shares during the quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $494,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, First United Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded up $3.46 during trading hours 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $195.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $218.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $195.83.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $2.00 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on AMAT. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. B. Riley raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, May 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.84.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.