Aspiriant LLC Sells 1,993 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Aspiriant LLC lowered its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 39.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,055 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 1,993 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $1,588,422,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 18,402.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,824,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,647,430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,814,444 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 18.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,602,645 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 301.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,471,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,335,180 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% 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. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.29.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.7%

Applied Materials stock opened at $172.84 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.03, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.67. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $157.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $163.24.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Applied Materials 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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