Avity Investment Management Inc. Sells 20,180 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Avity Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 226,145 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 20,180 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up 3.9% of Avity Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Avity Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $46,638,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $191,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Advisors lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 5,217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $846,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Mechanics Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 3,957 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $641,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,496 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $729,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 15,262 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,474,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $1,597,650.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 78,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,767,230.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $1,597,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 78,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,767,230.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560 in the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock traded up $3.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $235.99. 6,387,433 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,592,667. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $129.21 and a 1-year high of $249.42. The firm has a market cap of $195.39 billion, a PE ratio of 27.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.56. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $218.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $195.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.97.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.00 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. B. Riley boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.84.

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.