Morse Asset Management Inc Sells 675 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Morse Asset Management Inc trimmed its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 24,002 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 675 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for 1.3% of Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. RFP Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 96.6% during the 1st quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. B. Riley increased their price target on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Mizuho increased their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 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, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.84.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded up $4.15 during trading on Friday, reaching $206.47. The company had a trading volume of 5,208,974 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,394,189. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $129.21 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.95 billion, a PE ratio of 23.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $229.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors 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 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.