Compass Wealth Management LLC Has $6.31 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Compass Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 43,502 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,430 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises approximately 1.6% of Compass Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Compass Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% in the 1st quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “mixed” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.76.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT opened at $190.86 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $167.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $163.93. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $153.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.22, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.69.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.