Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Compass Wealth Management LLC

Compass Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,005 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 685 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises approximately 2.5% of Compass Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Compass Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $10,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Heritage Wealth Advisors grew its stake in Applied Materials by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 5,217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $846,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp boosted its stake in 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 period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,496 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $729,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 15,262 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,474,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Kaizen Financial Strategies lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Kaizen Financial Strategies now owns 3,733 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $1,597,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 78,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,767,230.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The stock was 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 owns 78,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,767,230.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 value of $4,446,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,000 shares of company stock worth $6,598,500. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded up $4.97 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $247.83. The stock had a trading volume of 5,256,914 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,859,224. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $213.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $191.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $249.42. The company has a market capitalization of $205.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.56. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Barclays raised shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Mizuho raised their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.04.

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.