Huntington National Bank Trims Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Huntington National Bank reduced its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 48.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 228,288 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 217,069 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $37,127,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Private Portfolio Partners LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC now owns 1,458 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 16,996 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,764,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP grew its stake in Applied Materials by 1,639.9% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 211,960 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $34,471,000 after acquiring an additional 199,778 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,270,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,079,451 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,260,178,000 after purchasing an additional 253,078 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $145.66 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $118.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $141.16 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $165.45 and a 200-day moving average of $176.27.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 target price (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.