Sienna Gestion Cuts Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Sienna Gestion cut its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 102,753 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 10,047 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises about 1.2% of Sienna Gestion’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Sienna Gestion’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $14,495,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% during the first quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 435.0% during the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Mizuho upped their price target on Applied Materials from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.09.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $190.03 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $215.70. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $183.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $166.69. The company has a market cap of $152.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 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.