Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Has $1.14 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,998 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 399 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,138,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jacobsen Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Jacobsen Capital Management now owns 1,289 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $210,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,982 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $973,000 after acquiring an additional 859 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 40,904 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $6,652,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 70.7% in the 4th quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 7,159 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after purchasing an additional 2,965 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 2,861 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $465,000 after buying an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $178.80 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $174.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $186.41. The company has a market capitalization of $145.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $158.96 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price objective (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. KeyCorp raised 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.71.

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.