Morse Asset Management Inc Has $552,000 Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Morse Asset Management Inc lessened its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 42.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,395 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 2,550 shares during the quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $552,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $164.00 to $162.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Bank of America decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.48.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT traded down $9.18 on Friday, reaching $165.57. The stock had a trading volume of 16,506,320 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,876,977. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $134.52 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $148.81 and a 200 day moving average of $165.66.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is 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.