Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc has recently filed its 13F report with the Securities & Exchange Commission, revealing a 1.9% reduction in holdings of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the first quarter. The asset management company sold off 924 shares, resulting in a total of 47,105 shares owned, worth approximately $5.8 million. This placed AMAT as the seventh largest holding in Guinness Atkinson Asset Management’s portfolio, with Applied Materials constituting roughly 3.3% of their holdings.
Applied Materials’ most recent earnings results were reported on May 18th this year, where they announced revenue of $6.63 billion and earnings per share (EPS) of $2.00 for the quarter – beating analysts’ consensus estimate by $0.16 per share. Compared to analyst projections of $6.37 billion revenue for the quarter, these results demonstrated a growth rate of up to 6.2% YoY alongside a net margin of over 24%.
Several equities research analysts have recently provided ratings and price targets for AMAT; Needham & Company LLC shifted from a “buy” rating to “hold”, while Mizuho raised their stock target from $136 to $140 and issued a “buy” rating. JPMorgan Chase & Co also rated it “overweight” with an increased price objective from $140 to $145, among others who gave hold or buy recommendations leading to an average Bloomberg.com rating of “Moderate Buy”.
While Guinness Atkinson Asset Management’s decision was only minimal in percentage terms, this recent filing is not only informative but may potentially shift other investors’ decision-making regarding investing or disinvesting into Applied Materials based on upcoming corporate news or market forecasts that can affect their expectations from current holdings based on future financial statements and conditions within competitive landscape as well industry trends affecting semiconductor equipment demand.
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Institutional Investors’ Recent Changes in Applied Materials: Implications for the Company’s Future
[stock_market_widget type=”chart” template=”basic” color=”#3946CE” assets=”AMAT” range=”1mo” interval=”1d” axes=”true” cursor=”true” range_selector=”true” api=”yf”]Applied Materials: An Overview of Institutional Investors’ Recent Changes
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) is a manufacturing equipment provider for the semiconductor, display, and solar photovoltaic industries. It ended its trading session on Monday at $138.93, closing in on its 52-week high of $142.53.
Recently, the company saw some institutional investors make changes to their positions in the company. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new stake worth approximately $25k during the fourth quarter while GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its holdings by an impressive 1,666.7% to own about 212 shares worth $26k after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the first quarter.
Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC also increased its position in Applied Materials by 55%, owning about 372 shares worth $30k after purchasing an additional 132 shares last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd, LLC followed suit with an acquisition of not less than 759 shares that raised its holding by more than 256% currently valued at $33k.
Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake of roughly $36k during the fourth quarter. This move brought the total institutional ownership to about 77.96%.
Applied Materials’ market cap stands at $116.67bn, with a P/E ratio of approximately 18.33 and a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of around 3.52; it has a beta of around 1.59 reflective of higher volatility than the index.
The firm has recently disclosed quarterly dividends, with ex-dividend expected on Wednesday, August 23rd and payments set to be made Thursday, September 14th for shareholders belonging on or before Thursday, August 24th which translates into a yield of approximately 0.92%.
Furthermore, Applied Materials’ board initiated share repurchase plan in March designed to buyback up to $10bn outstanding shares via open market purchases, indicating confidence in the company’s valuation.
All in all, institutional investors’ moves speak volumes about Applied Materials’ prospects and how their investments have caught fire. As such, it remains a stock to watch while continuing with our due diligence to observe incoming results worth incorporating into our buy, hold or sell assessment.
