Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 7,832 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB trimmed its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 349,062 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 7,832 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $50,656,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% during the first quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 35,188 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $5,106,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares during the last quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 9,510 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,380,000 after buying an additional 1,266 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $351,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 27.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 12,571 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,824,000 after buying an additional 2,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signet Financial Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.9% in the first quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 40,801 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $5,921,000 after buying an additional 773 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased 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 directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of AMAT stock traded down $4.41 on Friday, hitting $170.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,292,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,974,274. The stock has a market capitalization of $136.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $156.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The business's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AMAT. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup raised their target price on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.29.

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.