Central Bank & Trust Co. Decreases Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Central Bank & Trust Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 19,448 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,070 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,929,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $28,000. PSI Advisors LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 56.0% during the 2nd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 326.3% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $181.82 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.21 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $149.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $191.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $207.54.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. B. Riley dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.14.

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.