SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 12.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,100 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,155 shares during the quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,039,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $12,528,961,000 after buying an additional 487,358 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,079,451 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,260,178,000 after acquiring an additional 253,078 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,663,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,602,645 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,588,422,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,338,520 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,356,094,000 after purchasing an additional 587,036 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America cut their price target on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.29.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of AMAT opened at $166.74 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. The company’s fifty day moving average is $152.23 and its 200 day moving average is $163.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.81 billion, a PE ratio of 21.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

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.