DAVENPORT & Co LLC Cuts Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

DAVENPORT & Co LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 12.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,078 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 4,912 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,800,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. grew 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 in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT traded up $0.85 on Friday, hitting $190.86. 3,568,536 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,090,031. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $167.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $163.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.17 billion, a PE ratio of 23.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.69.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.38%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $200.76.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.