Pacific Sage Partners LLC Cuts Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Pacific Sage Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,867 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 806 shares during the period. Pacific Sage Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 30.6% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,281 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 38.3% in the first quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC now owns 9,639 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,399,000 after purchasing an additional 2,667 shares in the last quarter. Sava Infond d.o.o. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 19.5% in the first quarter. Sava Infond d.o.o. now owns 58,165 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,441,000 after purchasing an additional 9,500 shares in the last quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 15.6% in the first quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 19,933 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,893,000 after purchasing an additional 2,687 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WoodTrust Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 8.4% in the first quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 73,423 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,655,000 after purchasing an additional 5,669 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $162.00 to $158.00 in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “mixed” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.29.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.5%

AMAT opened at $171.96 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $159.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $162.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 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, 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 company had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.