Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Northern Trust Corp

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its stake in Applied Materials by 4.6%, selling 466,045 shares and maintaining ownership of approximately 1.20% of the company, valued at over $1.4 billion.
• Recent analysts' reports have seen mixed ratings for Applied Materials, with one downgrade from "buy" to "hold" and fluctuating price targets, now averaging $194.84 among 17 buy ratings.
• The company's stock is currently trading at $161.76, down 14.1%, while it has reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings of $2.48 EPS against a consensus of $2.36.

Northern Trust Corp lessened its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 4.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,764,419 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 466,045 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.20% of Applied Materials worth $1,417,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 8.4% during the first quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,814 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 165.4% in the first quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 345 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. FCG Investment Co increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 92.8% during the 1st quarter. FCG Investment Co now owns 7,072 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,026,000 after purchasing an additional 3,403 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 25.5% in the 1st quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC now owns 57,863 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $8,397,000 after buying an additional 11,754 shares during the period. Finally, Affinity Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 13.4% during the first quarter. Affinity Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,146 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,182,000 after buying an additional 964 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Summit Insights downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI restated an "outperform" rating and set a $209.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. B. Riley lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $194.84.

Applied Materials Stock Down 14.1%

Applied Materials stock opened at $161.76 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $184.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $166.54. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $215.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $129.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.31% and a net margin of 23.88%. The firm had revenue of $7.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 21.93%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Applied Materials

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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