Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Leuthold Group LLC

Leuthold Group LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 92,641 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 394 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises 2.2% of Leuthold Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Leuthold Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $19,105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,514,814,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Applied Materials by 3,940.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,175,766 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $352,626,000 after buying an additional 2,121,912 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 123.5% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,976,914 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $407,699,000 after buying an additional 1,092,429 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,117,176 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $12,012,171,000 after buying an additional 973,218 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Applied Materials by 20.4% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,623,048 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $953,411,000 after buying an additional 784,780 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. B. Riley upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.84.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the transaction, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $1,597,650.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 78,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,767,230.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560 over the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $7.18 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $248.44. 2,967,169 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,666,244. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.80. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $226.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $200.84. The company has a market cap of $205.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.54 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.39%.

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.