Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Sells 85,655 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Key Points

• Applied Finance Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Applied Materials by 28.8%, selling 85,655 shares during the first quarter and holding 211,583 shares afterward.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.39, surpassing analyst expectations of $2.31, with revenues reaching $7.10 billion.
• Applied Materials declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.99%, set to be paid on September 11.

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC cut its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 28.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 211,583 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 85,655 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up about 2.3% of Applied Finance Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $30,705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,079,451 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,260,178,000 after buying an additional 253,078 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,663,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602,645 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,338,520 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,356,094,000 after buying an additional 587,036 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,954,305 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $968,349,000 after buying an additional 484,133 shares during the period. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,913,942 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $636,524,000 after buying an additional 1,056,787 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $185.69 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $149.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.59, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.76. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $215.70. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $177.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.59.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Redburn Atlantic lowered Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $225.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price target (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.74.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.

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