Prudential PLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Prudential PLC decreased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 21.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 80,696 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 22,228 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $11,711,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% in the 1st quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 435.0% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT opened at $188.45 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $183.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $166.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $215.70. The stock has a market cap of $151.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate 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.