Legacy Private Trust Co. Lowers Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Legacy Private Trust Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,723 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 65 shares during the period. Legacy Private Trust Co.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lantz Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth approximately $212,000. MGO One Seven LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 13,637 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,218,000 after buying an additional 1,248 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,020 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. STAR Financial Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. STAR Financial Bank now owns 2,052 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $484,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorShares Investments LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $475,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.29.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT opened at $176.99 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $148.24 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $144.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $193.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

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.