Kintegral Advisory LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Kintegral Advisory LLC trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 32.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,330 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 10,460 shares during the period. Kintegral Advisory LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Skye Global Management LP bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $45,862,000. Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 9,896 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,608,000 after buying an additional 793 shares in the last quarter. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at about $230,000. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 71,577 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $11,640,000 after buying an additional 9,672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Argentarii LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $471,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT traded up $0.85 on Friday, hitting $190.86. 3,568,536 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,077,976. The business's fifty day moving average is $166.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.80. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.22, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.69. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America cut their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup upped their price target on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on 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, Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Seven equities research 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $200.76.

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.