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

Twin Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 22.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,555 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 3,657 shares during the period. Twin Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,822,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $1,588,422,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 18,402.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,824,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,647,430,000 after buying an additional 1,814,444 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,663,780,000 after buying an additional 1,602,645 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 301.6% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,959,997 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $318,754,000 after buying an additional 1,471,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 10,767.6% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,347,580 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $219,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335,180 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AMAT. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. TD Cowen cut their target price 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. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Citigroup increased 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.74.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $190.44 on Monday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $224.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $175.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $166.02. The company has a market cap of $152.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.17, a PEG 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.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The business'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 company posted $2.09 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given 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 0.97%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other 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 transaction of $100,373.20. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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.

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