LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Sells 3,498 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 18.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,042 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,498 shares during the quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,183,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,663,780,000 after buying an additional 1,602,645 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,085,600,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 20.7% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 7,189,402 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,043,326,000 after buying an additional 1,235,097 shares during the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 6.0% in the first quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 4,993,172 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $724,609,000 after purchasing an additional 280,955 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.5% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,830,923 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $701,064,000 after purchasing an additional 25,878 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of AMAT opened at $184.38 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $182.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.37. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $215.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.43, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 target price on Applied Materials and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Citigroup upped their target price on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 target price (up from $175.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Mizuho upped their target price on Applied Materials from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $225.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.09.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.