Davis Investment Partners LLC Sells 3,996 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Davis Investment Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 51.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,720 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 3,996 shares during the quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $538,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT traded up $2.21 on Thursday, hitting $175.00. The stock had a trading volume of 4,466,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,967,821. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $154.35 and a 200-day moving average of $163.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. The company has a market capitalization of $140.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.38%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Applied Materials from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $162.00 to $158.00 in a report on Friday, June 6th. B. Riley reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus 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.