Invesco Ltd. Sells 195,570 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. by 2.4%, selling 195,570 shares and owning approximately $1.16 billion worth of the company as of its latest filing.
• Applied Materials recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 1.0%, with a payout ratio of 22.38%.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Applied Materials, with a consensus price target of $204.09, despite mixed target price adjustments from various firms.

Invesco Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,015,208 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 195,570 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.99% of Applied Materials worth $1,163,167,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,603,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. F M Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 19,345 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,146,000 after purchasing an additional 901 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 4,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AMAT. B. Riley reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.09.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded up $1.72 during trading on Friday, hitting $184.87. 4,338,229 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,090,117. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $182.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $166.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $215.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released 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. 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%. Applied Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

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.