Pflug Koory LLC Sells 400 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Pflug Koory LLC lessened its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,776 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises approximately 2.7% of Pflug Koory LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Pflug Koory LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,522,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, First United Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on AMAT. Barclays upgraded shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $165.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 17th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.84.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT traded down $4.58 on Friday, hitting $235.41. The stock had a trading volume of 15,389,140 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,735,734. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $249.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $194.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.56. The company’s 50-day moving average is $214.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $192.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total transaction of $554,050.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 76,212 shares in the company, valued at $16,890,103.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total transaction of $554,050.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 76,212 shares in the company, valued at $16,890,103.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 78,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,767,230.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,000 shares of company stock valued at $6,598,500 over the last ninety days. 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.