Bank of New York Mellon Corp Decreases Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 11.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,660,333 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 969,284 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.94% of Applied Materials worth $1,111,668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 57.5% during the 1st quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 42,094 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $6,109,000 after purchasing an additional 15,361 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 628,626 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $91,226,000 after acquiring an additional 51,302 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 18.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,878 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,143,000 after purchasing an additional 1,232 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 119.1% during the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 99,428 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $14,429,000 after purchasing an additional 54,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,645 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,255,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the firm's 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Raymond James Financial reiterated 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. Wells Fargo & Company restated a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $200.76.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT traded up $0.85 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $190.86. The stock had a trading volume of 3,568,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,090,031. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $153.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.69. The company's 50-day moving average is $167.47 and its 200 day moving average is $163.94. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 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.