Palisade Capital Management LP Has $2.62 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Palisade Capital Management LP reduced its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 7.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,068 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 1,373 shares during the quarter. Palisade Capital Management LP's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,603,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 59.6% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 21,267 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,459,000 after buying an additional 7,938 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 220,453 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $35,852,000 after buying an additional 26,482 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 45,469 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $7,395,000 after buying an additional 1,757 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT traded up $0.85 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $190.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,568,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,077,976. The company's 50-day moving average is $166.69 and its 200-day moving average is $163.80. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $153.17 billion, a PE ratio of 23.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company 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 company's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

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 issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase 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 of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. B. Riley reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $200.76.

Insider Activity 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. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.