Harbor Island Capital LLC Has $44.14 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Harbor Island Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 214,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 18,550 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for about 20.2% of Harbor Island Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Harbor Island Capital LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $44,143,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $191,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 5,217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $846,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Breakwater Capital Group lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 1,445 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Mechanics Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 3,957 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $641,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,496 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $729,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on AMAT. B. Riley upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.84.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded up $1.42 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $237.41. 4,237,759 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,774,767. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $196.57 billion, a PE ratio of 27.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $249.42. The company’s 50 day moving average is $218.22 and its 200 day moving average is $196.10.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total transaction of $4,446,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at $24,091,873.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total transaction of $4,446,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at $24,091,873.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the transaction, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560 over the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.