Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Holdings Lowered by Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 98.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,792 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 133,416 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 8.9% during the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 174,332 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $25,299,000 after buying an additional 14,229 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 159,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $23,091,000 after buying an additional 2,719 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,923 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,585,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the period. Hartline Investment Corp purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,217,000. Finally, Carmel Capital Management L.L.C. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Carmel Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 87,085 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $12,638,000 after buying an additional 710 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $200.76.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded up $0.85 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $190.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,568,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,090,031. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $167.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46. The firm has a market cap of $153.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. Applied Materials's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

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.