Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Sells 8,896 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 54.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,430 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 8,896 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,078,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,588,422,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 18,402.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,824,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,647,430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,814,444 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,663,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602,645 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 301.6% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,959,997 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $318,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471,953 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 10,767.6% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,347,580 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $219,157,000 after buying an additional 1,335,180 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of AMAT traded down $4.41 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $170.59. 5,292,961 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,989,010. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company's fifty day moving average price is $156.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $163.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $136.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. Applied Materials's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Barclays cut their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Applied Materials from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $162.00 to $158.00 in a report on Friday, June 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.