Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Willis Investment Counsel

Willis Investment Counsel cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 29.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 104,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 43,592 shares during the quarter. Willis Investment Counsel's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $15,196,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 18,785 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,055,000 after acquiring an additional 6,364 shares in the last quarter. Skye Global Management LP bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,862,000. Cable Hill Partners LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 3,485 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $567,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth $230,000. Finally, Value Partners Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 9,896 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,608,000 after buying an additional 793 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on AMAT. B. Riley cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Mizuho cut their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.29.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT traded down $4.41 on Friday, reaching $170.59. 5,292,961 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,974,281. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $156.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $163.20. The firm has a market cap of $136.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67. 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.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.38%.

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.