Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Primecap Management Co. CA

Primecap Management Co. CA lessened its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,855,183 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 153,900 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA owned approximately 0.34% of Applied Materials worth $673,795,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at $773,611,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 3,940.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,175,766 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $352,626,000 after buying an additional 2,121,912 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 126.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $464,974,000 after buying an additional 1,259,111 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,117,176 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,012,171,000 after buying an additional 973,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at $162,873,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $187.58 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $202.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $210.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $129.21 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the transaction, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. B. Riley cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $223.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.86.

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.