Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Cuts Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 16.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,015 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 5,320 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,571,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $0.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $242.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,076,227 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,758,209. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $222.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $198.40. 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 $200.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.97.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm 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 expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors 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 0.66%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.84.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other 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 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 approximately $24,091,873.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total transaction of $4,446,800.00. Following the sale, 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. Insiders sold a total of 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.