Financial Counselors Inc. Sells 1,668 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Financial Counselors Inc. decreased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 106,623 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 1,668 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $15,473,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,603,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,530 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $737,000 after buying an additional 926 shares during the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $1,106,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,242 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,178,000 after acquiring an additional 1,466 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. This 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 this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $190.78. 6,576,529 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,087,971. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $167.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $163.94. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $153.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.21, a PEG ratio of 2.13 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.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. Applied Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, B. Riley decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $202.00.

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.