Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Trust Co of Kansas

Trust Co of Kansas cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 13.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,302 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 506 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for about 0.3% of Trust Co of Kansas’ portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Trust Co of Kansas’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 76.9% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 333.8% in the 3rd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 295 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 795.0% in the 3rd quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 29,606 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 26,298 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Bank Of America (Bofa) raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $220.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.50.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock traded up $3.94 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $193.40. 2,621,531 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,169,135. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $109.15 and a 52 week high of $214.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $202.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $170.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.59.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.06%.

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.