Occidental Asset Management LLC Sells 669 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Occidental Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,752 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 669 shares during the period. Occidental Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,867,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $3.46 during trading on Friday, hitting $235.99. 6,387,433 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,592,667. The company has a market cap of $195.39 billion, a PE ratio of 27.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $218.22 and a 200 day moving average of $195.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week 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.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.00 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at $24,091,873.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the 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 sale, 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 a total of 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $215.00 to $210.00 in a report on Monday, May 13th. Six equities 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.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.84.

Applied Materials Company 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.