Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC Lowers Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 15.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,320 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,360 shares during the quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,510,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,008,622 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $15,469,028,000 after purchasing an additional 891,446 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 22,005,192 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,566,418,000 after purchasing an additional 682,098 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,738,382 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,226,581,000 after purchasing an additional 224,296 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,260,630 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,322,280,000 after purchasing an additional 360,002 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $1,514,814,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The stock was 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 approximately $16,767,230.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was 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 directly owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $1,597,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 78,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,767,230.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. 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 on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.84.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock traded down $14.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $181.81. The company had a trading volume of 12,991,632 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,521,505. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company’s fifty day moving average is $227.41 and its 200-day moving average is $207.78. The company has a market capitalization of $150.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced 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 return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.00 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.39%.

About Applied Materials

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.