Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Stake Cut by Financial Advisors Network Inc.

Key Points

• Financial Advisors Network Inc. has significantly reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. by 85.7%, now holding only 2,353 shares worth approximately $341,000.
• Several hedge funds have increased their stakes in Applied Materials, with Northern Trust Corp boosting its ownership by 18.6% and Nuveen LLC acquiring a new stake valued at around $1.08 billion.
• Applied Materials reported a quarterly EPS of $2.48, surpassing analysts' expectations, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share.

Financial Advisors Network Inc. reduced its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 85.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,353 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 14,060 shares during the period. Financial Advisors Network Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $341,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,663,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,602,645 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,085,600,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 20.7% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 7,189,402 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,043,326,000 after buying an additional 1,235,097 shares in the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 4,993,172 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $724,609,000 after buying an additional 280,955 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,830,923 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $701,064,000 after buying an additional 25,878 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Evercore ISI reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $209.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price target (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Redburn Atlantic cut Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $225.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Wolfe Research lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $194.84.

Applied Materials Stock Down 14.1%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $161.76 on Monday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $215.70. The firm has a market cap of $129.81 billion, a PE ratio of 19.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $184.18 and a 200-day moving average of $166.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.12 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.93%.

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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