Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Acquired by CENTRAL TRUST Co

CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,586 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,418 shares during the quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,947,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. JT Stratford LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 10,890 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,246,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 5.6% during the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $191,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co raised its position in Applied Materials by 3.3% in the second quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 1,556 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 4,016 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $948,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.14.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $183.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $152.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. The business has a 50-day moving average of $194.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $208.75.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.39%.

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.