Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Cuts Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA decreased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 8.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,157,792 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 288,627 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.39% of Applied Materials worth $458,255,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 972.2% in the first quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AMAT. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded down $2.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $190.44. 4,756,141 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,116,167. The firm has a market cap of $152.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.17, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.69. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $224.09. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $175.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $165.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

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.