Whelan Financial Sells 196 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Whelan Financial trimmed its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 11.1% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,565 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 196 shares during the quarter. Whelan Financial’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 3,734 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co increased its stake in Applied Materials by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,061 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $173,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its stake in Applied Materials by 4.7% in the first quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 1,506 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 977 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fourpath Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 0.8% in the first quarter. Fourpath Capital Management LLC now owns 9,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,388,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $190.86 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $163.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.22, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results 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 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program 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 repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 22.38%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on AMAT. B. Riley lowered 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. Mizuho lowered 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. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.76.

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.