QRG Capital Management Inc. Sells 81,423 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

QRG Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 21.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 294,588 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 81,423 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $42,751,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,039,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $12,528,961,000 after buying an additional 487,358 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 1.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Applied Materials by 18.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,588,422,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 587,036 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.7%

AMAT stock traded down $1.25 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $172.84. 4,944,138 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,993,293. The stock has a market cap of $138.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.67. 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, 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 price is $157.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $163.24.

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

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.06%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen cut 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. B. Riley cut 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. Bank of America cut their price target 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. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.29.

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.