Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. Has $23.52 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.4% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 114,051 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 515 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises about 1.6% of Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $23,521,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Finally, First United Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AMAT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at $24,091,873.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at $24,091,873.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,890,103.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded up $3.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $235.99. The company had a trading volume of 6,386,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,787,150. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $218.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $195.56. 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 $195.39 billion, a PE ratio of 27.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $249.42.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.00 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

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.