Primecap Management Co. CA Sells 141,910 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Key Points

• Primecap Management Co. CA reduced its stake in Applied Materials by 5.5%, holding approximately 2.45 million shares worth around $356 million.
• Institutional investors now own 80.56% of Applied Materials, highlighting strong interest from large entities.
• Applied Materials announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, with the stock's dividend yield at 1.0% and a payout ratio of 22.38%.

Primecap Management Co. CA lessened its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 5.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,454,370 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 141,910 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA owned about 0.30% of Applied Materials worth $356,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% during the first quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth about $44,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded up $1.72 during trading on Friday, hitting $184.87. The stock had a trading volume of 4,338,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,230,918. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The business has a fifty day moving average of $181.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $166.81. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $215.70. The firm has a market cap of $148.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.49, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for 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 firm's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Mizuho boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.09.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.