Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by AMF Tjanstepension AB

AMF Tjanstepension AB reduced its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 17.7% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 169,722 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 36,539 shares during the quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $24,538,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 18,113 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,764,000 after acquiring an additional 2,108 shares in the last quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Silicon Valley Capital Partners acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $50,000. Mcdonald Partners LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth $204,000. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 109.7% during the 4th quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 4,931 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $480,000 after acquiring an additional 2,580 shares in the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.04, for a total transaction of $150,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 106,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,907,690.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.04, for a total transaction of $150,040.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 106,023 shares in the company, valued at $15,907,690.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.00, for a total transaction of $1,420,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 69,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,869,568. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock traded up $0.53 on Thursday, hitting $145.11. 246,407 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,980,995. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.12 and a 1-year high of $155.26. The stock has a market cap of $121.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $144.93 and a 200-day moving average of $131.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 17th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.16. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.27% and a return on equity of 49.29%. The business had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 7.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Investors of record on Friday, November 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AMAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. Craig Hallum lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $139.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 21st. B. Riley lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $150.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.08.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. It 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.