Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,077,877 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 31,206 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.13% of Applied Materials worth $156,422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Skye Global Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,862,000. Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 8.7% during 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 during the last quarter. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at about $230,000. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $471,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $0.85 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $190.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,568,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,090,031. The firm has a market cap of $153.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.69. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The firm's 50 day moving average is $167.47 and its 200-day moving average is $163.93. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The business's revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company 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. 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 0.96%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 22.38%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price target (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Bank of America decreased 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 report on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $200.76.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials 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.