Burney Co. Sells 5,948 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Burney Co. reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 10.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 49,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 5,948 shares during the period. Burney Co.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $7,208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 972.2% during the 1st quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $187.14 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $150.18 billion, a PE ratio of 22.77, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.69. The business has a 50 day moving average of $175.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $166.02. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $221.95.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Citigroup raised their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.74.

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.

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