Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Has $3.18 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Key Points

• Empirical Wealth Management significantly reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc., selling 67.5% of its shares and now holding just 21,919 shares valued at approximately $3.2 million.
• Other institutional investors have also made notable changes to their positions, including Runnymede Capital Advisors, which increased its stake by 972.2%.
• Applied Materials recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46, reflecting an annualized payout of $1.84 and a yield of 1.0%.

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lowered its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 67.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,919 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 45,422 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.1%

NASDAQ AMAT traded up $2.06 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $182.05. 1,945,841 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,261,512. The business's 50-day moving average is $179.91 and its 200-day moving average is $166.77. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $215.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.70.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.38%.

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.