Park Avenue Securities LLC Has $4.05 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Park Avenue Securities LLC cut its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 14.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 27,878 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 4,717 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,046,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 17,246 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,805,000 after acquiring an additional 2,536 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,603,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,303,000. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,309 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,490,000 after buying an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on AMAT. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “mixed” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.29.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $169.79 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $152.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $163.07. The firm has a market cap of $136.26 billion, a PE ratio of 22.19, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.