Beech Hill Advisors Inc. Sells 2,226 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Beech Hill Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 6.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 33,972 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 2,226 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises about 2.0% of Beech Hill Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Beech Hill Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. KG&L Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. KG&L Capital Management LLC now owns 16,014 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,324,000 after acquiring an additional 808 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,735 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $542,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 40.8% in the first quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 13,934 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,023,000 after purchasing an additional 4,038 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 43.6% in the first quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,822 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generate Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $5,495,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded up $0.45 on Thursday, hitting $183.52. The stock had a trading volume of 5,195,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,005,182. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $161.25 and a 200 day moving average of $163.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.33, a PEG ratio of 2.01 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. Sell-side 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 authorized a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly 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. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Mizuho cut their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley raised Applied Materials from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $162.00 to $158.00 in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $200.24.

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.