Opinicus Capital Inc. Has $817,000 Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Opinicus Capital Inc. cut its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 27.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,630 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 2,085 shares during the quarter. Opinicus Capital Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $817,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.5%

AMAT traded down $4.41 during trading on Friday, reaching $170.59. 5,292,961 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,989,010. The company's fifty day moving average price is $156.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.90 billion, a PE ratio of 22.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.38%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on AMAT. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, B. Riley cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $65,173.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Applied Materials

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.