Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Sells 1,125 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 11.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,540 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,125 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,761,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $69,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 51,346 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,109,000 after purchasing an additional 8,371 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 10.2% in the third quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 6,999 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $969,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,183,000. Finally, Rench Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.4% in the third quarter. Rench Wealth Management Inc. now owns 29,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,136,000 after purchasing an additional 708 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total value of $554,050.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 76,212 shares in the company, valued at $16,890,103.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $12,458,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total value of $554,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 76,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,890,103.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560 over the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $234.00 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $129.21 and a 1-year 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. The firm has a market cap of $193.74 billion, a PE ratio of 26.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a 50-day moving average of $216.53 and a 200 day moving average of $194.73.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid 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 payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Mizuho boosted 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. UBS Group increased 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. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.84.

Applied Materials 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.