Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Crestwood Advisors Group LLC

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 350,644 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 7,145 shares during the quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $50,885,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 3,734 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $607,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.7% during the first quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 1,506 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.8% during the first quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 2,540 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Hardy Reed LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.0% during the first quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 7,324 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,063,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Quotient Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.9% during the first quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, July 7th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.74.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $193.59 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $155.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46. The company has a fifty day moving average of $175.89 and a 200 day moving average of $166.02. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $224.09.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

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.

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