Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Park Place Capital Corp

Park Place Capital Corp trimmed its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 38.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 409 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 252 shares during the quarter. Park Place Capital Corp’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $84,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, First United Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total transaction of $4,446,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total value of $554,050.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 76,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,890,103.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560 in the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded up $1.42 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $237.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,238,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,774,771. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $218.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $196.10. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $249.42. The stock has a market cap of $196.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.97.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.54 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.00 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $210.00 in a report on Monday, May 13th. Barclays raised shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.84.

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.