Lbp Am Sa Cuts Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

LBP AM SA lowered its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 49.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,171 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 34,909 shares during the period. LBP AM SA's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,552 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,853,000 after acquiring an additional 1,410 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its position in Applied Materials by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 7,792 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 1,436 shares during the last quarter. GFG Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. GFG Capital LLC now owns 33,471 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $4,857,000 after acquiring an additional 2,793 shares during the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 24,513 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,557,000 after acquiring an additional 2,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch SE boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 37.9% during the 1st quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 2,207,218 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $320,311,000 after acquiring an additional 607,140 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of AMAT stock traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $197.93. 4,423,891 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,109,438. The business's fifty day moving average is $171.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $164.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.76. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $248.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.69.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, July 7th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $203.65.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $946,580. This represents 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. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Applied Materials

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.