Claro Advisors LLC Has $1.22 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Claro Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,910 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 162 shares during the quarter. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,219,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.6% in the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $191,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Advisors raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 5,217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $846,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Breakwater Capital Group raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 1,445 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,496 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $729,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $1,597,650.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 78,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,767,230.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on AMAT. Susquehanna upped their target price 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. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.84.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $1.42 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $237.41. The stock had a trading volume of 4,238,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,774,771. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $129.21 and a twelve month high of $249.42. The stock has a market cap of $196.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.10, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.56. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $218.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $196.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.80.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.39%.

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.