Rakuten Securities Inc. Has $46,000 Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Rakuten Securities Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 66.0% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 316 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 614 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $46,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 directly owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT opened at $174.09 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The business has a 50 day moving average of $157.46 and a 200-day moving average of $163.18. The stock has a market cap of $139.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.18, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 22.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on AMAT. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. B. Riley cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Citigroup raised 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. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.29.

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.