Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Position Lessened by Yousif Capital Management LLC

Yousif Capital Management LLC cut its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 1.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,169 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 1,900 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $14,972,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Regatta Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $208,000. Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $998,000. Range Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 10.2% in the first quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 1,860 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 27.2% during the first quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 8,688 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,261,000 after acquiring an additional 1,858 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 62,146 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $9,019,000 after acquiring an additional 3,937 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $4.41 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $170.59. 5,292,961 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,974,274. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $155.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $163.22. The stock has a market cap of $136.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.30, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. Applied Materials's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 22.38%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of several research reports. B. Riley lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.29.

Applied Materials 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.