AIA Group Ltd Reduces Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

AIA Group Ltd lessened its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 54.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 17,056 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 20,485 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,517,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.84.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $2.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $243.40. The company had a trading volume of 5,395,710 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,685,383. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $227.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $201.40. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.00 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the 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 directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

About Applied Materials

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.