Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Pinnacle Associates Ltd.

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 12.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 97,258 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 14,289 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $14,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,663,780,000 after buying an additional 1,602,645 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $1,588,422,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,338,520 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,356,094,000 after purchasing an additional 587,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,954,305 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $968,349,000 after purchasing an additional 484,133 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. B. Riley lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $225.00 to $200.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.74.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock traded up $1.11 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $188.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,805,343 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,180,138. The stock has a market cap of $150.97 billion, a PE ratio of 22.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $215.70. The company's 50 day moving average is $177.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.54.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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 issued 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 dividend yield of 0.98%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.