Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Decreases Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has reduced its holdings in Applied Materials by 9.5%, selling 617,966 shares during the first quarter, leaving them with approximately 5.87 million shares valued at $852 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Twin City Private Wealth LLC and Intrust Bank NA, have adjusted their positions in Applied Materials, with Twin City increasing its holdings by 95.1%.
• Analysts have varying opinions on Applied Materials, with TD Cowen lowering their target price from $225 to $220, while other firms continue to maintain a mix of "buy" and "hold" ratings, contributing to a current consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 9.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,871,376 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 617,966 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.72% of Applied Materials worth $852,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,603,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $137,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $79,306,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 46,156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $7,506,000 after buying an additional 10,005 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT traded up $1.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $184.87. 4,338,229 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,230,918. The company has a market cap of $148.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.70. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $215.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $181.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $166.81. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The firm's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is 22.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $200.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials 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 directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.