Sit Investment Associates Inc. Sells 13,867 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Key Points

• Sit Investment Associates Inc. reduced its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. by 10.3%, bringing its total to 120,279 shares valued at approximately $17.46 million.
• Applied Materials has received mixed ratings from analysts, with price targets varying from $170.00 to $220.00, leading to an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $204.09.
• The company reported quarterly earnings with $2.39 earnings per share, surpassing expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share to be paid on September 11th.

Sit Investment Associates Inc. lowered its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 10.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 120,279 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 13,867 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $17,455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 18.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth approximately $1,085,600,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in Applied Materials by 20.7% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 7,189,402 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,043,326,000 after acquiring an additional 1,235,097 shares during the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers lifted its position in Applied Materials by 6.0% during the first quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 4,993,172 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $724,609,000 after acquiring an additional 280,955 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.5% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,830,923 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $701,064,000 after purchasing an additional 25,878 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded down $26.48 on Friday, hitting $161.76. 31,753,938 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,199,587. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $184.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.71. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $129.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.70. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $215.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 41.31%. The company had revenue of $7.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.93%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 target price (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Summit Insights cut shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $194.84.

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.