Sunburst Financial Group LLC Has $390,000 Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Sunburst Financial Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 9.4% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,871 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 193 shares during the period. Sunburst Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock traded up $6.27 on Friday, hitting $238.80. 1,101,637 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,744,535. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $249.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The company has a 50 day moving average of $216.53 and a 200 day moving average of $194.73. The stock has a market cap of $197.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.47, 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. The business 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 quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.00 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, B. Riley boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.84.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials 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 transaction, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the 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 directly owns 78,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,767,230.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

About Applied Materials

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.