Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by ESG Planning DBA Harper Investing

ESG Planning DBA Harper Investing cut its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 51.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,395 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 1,495 shares during the quarter. ESG Planning DBA Harper Investing's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,039,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $12,528,961,000 after buying an additional 487,358 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,079,451 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,260,178,000 after purchasing an additional 253,078 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake 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 valued at $1,663,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602,645 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,588,422,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,338,520 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,356,094,000 after acquiring an additional 587,036 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.2%

Applied Materials stock traded down $2.29 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $192.52. 5,702,458 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,141,587. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $233.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $174.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $165.59. The company has a market cap of $154.50 billion, a PE ratio of 23.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.69.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.46 per share. 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 0.96%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 22.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AMAT. Barclays cut their target price on shares of 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.74.

About Applied Materials

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.