Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV trimmed its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 31.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 10,658 shares during the period. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,405,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley raised Applied Materials from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $162.00 to $158.00 in a report on Friday, June 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.29.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock traded down $4.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $170.59. The stock had a trading volume of 5,292,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,989,010. The company has a market cap of $136.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $156.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $163.14. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm 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 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.38%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials 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.