Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Has $10.94 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA cut its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 19.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,411 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 18,687 shares during the quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $10,944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Jacobi Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 51.2% during the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 18,785 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,055,000 after acquiring an additional 6,364 shares during the last quarter. Skye Global Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,862,000. Cable Hill Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 3,485 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $567,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $230,000. Finally, Value Partners Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 8.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.5%

Applied Materials stock traded down $4.41 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $170.59. The stock had a trading volume of 5,292,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,974,281. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $136.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $156.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $163.20.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm 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 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Edward Jones raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.29.

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.