Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Has $94.79 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 66.7% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 653,156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,306,841 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $94,786,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 3,734 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $607,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Old Port Advisors raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.5% during the first quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 2,730 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.7% during the first quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 1,506 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.8% during the first quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 2,540 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 7.2% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $152,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.8%

Applied Materials stock opened at $190.03 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $215.70. The stock has a market cap of $152.50 billion, a PE ratio of 23.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.70. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $183.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46.

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

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 $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AMAT. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.