Successful Portfolios LLC Lowers Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Successful Portfolios LLC lessened its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,402 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Successful Portfolios LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $929,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired 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 approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $166.74 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $152.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $163.24. 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 stock has a market cap of $133.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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 share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $162.00 to $158.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.29.

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.