First American Bank Has $5.97 Million Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

First American Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 36,711 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. First American Bank’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Hosking Partners LLP grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 77,950 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $12,677,000 after acquiring an additional 11,385 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,100 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $829,000 after purchasing an additional 893 shares during the last quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 16,068 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,613,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,825 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,761,000 after purchasing an additional 866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych now owns 23,650 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,846,000 after buying an additional 9,100 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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 owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $156.67 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $156.38 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a 50 day moving average of $175.49 and a 200-day moving average of $183.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders 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 1.02%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

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.