Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Bought by Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co

Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 46.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,792 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,167 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $773,611,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Applied Materials by 3,940.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,175,766 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $352,626,000 after buying an additional 2,121,912 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 126.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $464,974,000 after buying an additional 1,259,111 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,008,622 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $15,469,028,000 after buying an additional 891,446 shares during the period. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth $162,873,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.3 %

NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $4.37 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $186.65. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,258,035 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,055,700. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The stock has a market cap of $154.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $195.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $209.72. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $129.21 and a twelve month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Citigroup cut their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. B. Riley dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.14.

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.