Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning Decreases Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning decreased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 15.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,730 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,578 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for about 0.9% of Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $191,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 5,217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $846,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Breakwater Capital Group increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 1,445 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 3,957 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $641,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,496 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $729,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $12,458,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 78,712 shares in the company, valued at $16,767,230.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560 over the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $243.13 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $249.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $219.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $196.63.

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 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 firm had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.00 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a 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 MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.84.

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.