Motiv8 Investments LLC Reduces Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Motiv8 Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,928 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 116 shares during the period. Motiv8 Investments LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $860,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 40.4% during the first quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV now owns 2,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 709 shares during the period. KG&L Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 5.3% during the first quarter. KG&L Capital Management LLC now owns 16,014 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,324,000 after acquiring an additional 808 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,735 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $542,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 40.8% in the 1st quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 13,934 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,023,000 after purchasing an additional 4,038 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 43.6% in the 1st quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,822 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Barclays decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.24.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $183.07 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $161.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.14. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

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.