M&T Bank Corp Cuts Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

M&T Bank Corp trimmed its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 310,539 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,949 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $50,503,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, City Holding Co. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $152.87 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $124.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $174.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.55 and a 1 year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% 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.