KBC Group NV Sells 446,263 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

KBC Group NV lessened its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 26.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,258,617 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 446,263 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 0.6% of KBC Group NV’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $182,650,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McGuire Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 0.4% in the first quarter. McGuire Investment Group LLC now owns 122,929 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $17,839,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 26.7% in the first quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 1,939 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. RBA Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 4.5% in the first quarter. RBA Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,866 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,044,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at $502,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 35.4% in the first quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,775 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the purchase, 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.2%

AMAT opened at $183.21 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $147.03 billion, a PE ratio of 22.29, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business has a 50 day moving average of $163.08 and a 200-day moving average of $163.27. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.