Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Meeder Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Meeder Asset Management Inc. significantly reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. by 90.2%, retaining only 2,540 shares after selling 23,343 shares, valued at approximately $369,000.
• Other institutional investors have increased their positions in Applied Materials, with Geode Capital Management LLC and Northern Trust Corp both boosting their stakes in the fourth quarter.
• Applied Materials reported earnings of $2.39 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.31, while the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 90.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,540 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 23,343 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $369,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,079,451 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,260,178,000 after buying an additional 253,078 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,663,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,602,645 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,954,305 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $968,349,000 after acquiring an additional 484,133 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 3,913,942 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $636,524,000 after purchasing an additional 1,056,787 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Applied Materials by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,636,546 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $591,412,000 after purchasing an additional 678,510 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $0.98 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $189.39. The stock had a trading volume of 3,958,519 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,725,215. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $179.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $166.88. The stock has a market cap of $151.99 billion, a PE ratio of 23.04, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.69. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $215.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. B. Riley lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $205.17.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 transaction of $100,373.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, 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 at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.