Boston Trust Walden Corp Cuts Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Boston Trust Walden Corp lowered its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 4.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 564,893 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 27,303 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned about 0.07% of Applied Materials worth $81,977,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 17,246 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,805,000 after purchasing an additional 2,536 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,603,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,061,000 after buying an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $15,303,000. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 1,862 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.0%

AMAT traded down $3.38 on Friday, reaching $169.46. 18,385,582 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,038,696. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $158.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $163.17. The company has a market cap of $135.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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 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 analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.29.

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.