Norris Perne & French LLP MI Trims Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Norris Perne & French LLP MI cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 201,136 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 11,443 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up approximately 3.0% of Norris Perne & French LLP MI’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Norris Perne & French LLP MI’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $41,480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 22.5% during the first quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 3,142 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $646,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Bridge Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.3% during the first quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,816 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $787,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, Calton & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth $243,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 17th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT traded up $3.46 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $235.99. 6,387,433 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,592,667. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $218.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $195.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $249.42. 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 company has a market cap of $195.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. 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 company posted $2.00 EPS. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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