Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Peoples Bank OH

Peoples Bank OH lessened its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,740 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 311 shares during the period. Peoples Bank OH’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 341.0% during the 3rd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,857,155 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $577,288,000 after acquiring an additional 2,209,218 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 67.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,663,133 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $942,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,884,153 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,327,707,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509,439 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 262.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,390,501 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $280,951,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006,937 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch SE lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 126.6% in the fourth quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 1,600,078 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $260,221,000 after purchasing an additional 893,995 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $176.04 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $143.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.01, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.53. 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 one year low of $158.96 and a one year high of $255.89. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $175.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.98.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 20.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped 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, Mizuho lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

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.