Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 82.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,460 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 21,012 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $647,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,061 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $173,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 977 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Fourpath Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Fourpath Capital Management LLC now owns 9,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,388,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Enterprises LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Enterprises LLC now owns 2,132 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock traded up $0.69 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $183.76. 6,569,873 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,053,618. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $147.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.36, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $164.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $163.32.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities 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. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AMAT. B. Riley reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $200.76.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired 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 directly owned 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Company 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.