Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by AXS Investments LLC

Key Points

• AXS Investments LLC has reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. by 46.0%, selling over 7,200 shares, leaving it with a total holding worth approximately $1.24 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have made significant adjustments to their positions in Applied Materials, with Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. increasing its holdings by 972.2% during the same period.
• Applied Materials recently reported a quarterly earnings beat with $2.39 EPS, above the expected $2.31, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share.

AXS Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 46.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,557 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 7,279 shares during the period. AXS Investments LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,242,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 2,401.0% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,066,817 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $445,056,000 after purchasing an additional 2,944,193 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 18,402.1% in the 1st 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 grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,663,780,000 after buying an additional 1,602,645 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 301.6% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,959,997 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $318,754,000 after buying an additional 1,471,953 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 10,767.6% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,347,580 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $219,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,335,180 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. B. Riley lowered their target price 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. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price target (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.09.

Insider Activity

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

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $1.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $184.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,338,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,230,918. The business's fifty day moving average is $181.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.81. The stock has a market cap of $148.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.49, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.76. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $215.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The company's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. 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.