Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Main Street Research LLC

Main Street Research LLC decreased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 50.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,642 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 40,829 shares during the quarter. Main Street Research LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,610,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Sargent Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.0% during the third quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $221,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Field & Main Bank increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 3,170 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $516,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 6,998 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,138,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,388 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,202,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $155.68 on Monday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $173.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.81. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $149.55 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $126.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho cut their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

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.