Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Ceeto Capital Group LLC

Ceeto Capital Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 40.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,000 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the period. Ceeto Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $619,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,008,622 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $15,469,028,000 after acquiring an additional 891,446 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 22,005,192 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,566,418,000 after buying an additional 682,098 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Applied Materials by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,738,382 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,226,581,000 after acquiring an additional 224,296 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,260,630 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,322,280,000 after acquiring an additional 360,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,514,814,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded up $4.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $206.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,208,974 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,394,189. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $170.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.56. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $229.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued 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 company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays raised Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $165.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.84.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 have sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560 in the last quarter. Corporate 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.