Avanza Fonder AB Sells 7,090 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Avanza Fonder AB trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 8.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,117 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 7,090 shares during the quarter. Avanza Fonder AB's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $11,542,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 51.2% during the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 18,785 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,055,000 after purchasing an additional 6,364 shares during the period. Skye Global Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $45,862,000. Cable Hill Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 3,485 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $567,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. Value Partners Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 9,896 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,608,000 after purchasing an additional 793 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 71,577 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $11,640,000 after purchasing an additional 9,672 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded down $4.41 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $170.59. 5,292,961 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,974,274. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The firm has a market cap of $136.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.30, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $163.22.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has initiated 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 buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. Barclays cut their target price on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. B. Riley lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by 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.