Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Decreases Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,743,039 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 127,669 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.34% of Applied Materials worth $398,070,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 17,246 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,805,000 after acquiring an additional 2,536 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,603,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Nwam LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 49.3% in the 4th quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 9,158 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,489,000 after purchasing an additional 3,026 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock traded down $0.31 during trading on Friday, hitting $183.21. The company had a trading volume of 14,201,548 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,056,229. The firm has a market cap of $147.03 billion, a PE ratio of 19.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $163.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $163.27. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 acquired at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 price target on Applied Materials and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley raised Applied Materials from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $162.00 to $158.00 in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $200.24.

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.