Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. cut its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 36.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,540 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 10,729 shares during the quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,015,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Swedbank AB grew its stake in Applied Materials by 2.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $857,615,000 after purchasing an additional 108,827 shares during the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 3,255 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $658,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 7,368 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,489,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 15.1% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 5,775 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, F M Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $437,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays cut their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup raised their target price on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $2.45 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $155.32. 5,858,137 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,864,508. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.55 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The business's fifty day moving average price is $174.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $181.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.30, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. On average, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.92%.

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.