Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 462,652 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 6,496 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned 0.06% of Applied Materials worth $67,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. raised 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction of $65,173.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.6%

Applied Materials stock traded up $2.89 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $183.07. The stock had a trading volume of 5,425,035 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,003,507. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $146.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company has a fifty day moving average of $160.35 and a 200 day moving average of $163.00.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 22.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Barclays lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. B. Riley reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Applied Materials from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $162.00 to $158.00 in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $200.24.

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.