Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC

Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC cut its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 87.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,778 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 12,823 shares during the period. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 17,246 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,805,000 after acquiring an additional 2,536 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,603,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $15,303,000. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $991,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock traded down $3.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $169.46. 18,385,582 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,038,696. The firm's fifty day moving average is $159.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.08. The company has a market capitalization of $135.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.76.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 22.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The sale 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 dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction 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 approximately $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. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. B. Riley decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Applied Materials from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $162.00 to $158.00 in a report on Friday, June 6th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.