J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Reduces Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG has reduced its stock position in Applied Materials, Inc. by 38.3%, selling 44,000 shares and retaining 70,822 shares worth approximately $10.28 million.
• Applied Materials reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.39, beating the consensus estimate, while revenue reached $7.10 billion, just shy of analysts' expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.0%, to be paid on September 11th.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lessened its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 38.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 70,822 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 44,000 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $10,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 3,734 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $607,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Old Port Advisors raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.5% in the first quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 2,730 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $396,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.7% in the first quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 1,506 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 2.8% during the first quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 2,540 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 7.2% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $152,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $179.99 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $179.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $166.99. 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 stock has a market cap of $144.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.90, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.70. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $215.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $7.10 billion for 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 business's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the business'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 value of $100,373.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on AMAT. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 price target on Applied Materials and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price target (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, B. Riley reduced their price objective 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $205.17.

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.

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