Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lessened its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 4.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 54,621 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 2,832 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $7,927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,603,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,530 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $737,000 after acquiring an additional 926 shares in the last quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $596,000 after buying an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,913 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $4,702,000 after acquiring an additional 3,462 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, July 7th. B. Riley decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 target price on Applied Materials and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.74.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.1%

AMAT stock traded down $2.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $190.44. 4,756,141 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,116,167. The business's 50 day moving average price is $175.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $165.98. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $224.09. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $152.83 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.69.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 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.