Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by First National Trust Co

First National Trust Co trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,615 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 595 shares during the period. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,558,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 47.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,480,780 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $343,464,000 after purchasing an additional 793,610 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,724,217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $441,514,000 after acquiring an additional 778,716 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Applied Materials by 6.0% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,995,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,383,848,000 after acquiring an additional 570,080 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 13,929.6% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 515,028 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $834,710,000 after acquiring an additional 511,357 shares during the period. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 117.6% during the 3rd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 926,917 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $128,341,000 after purchasing an additional 500,900 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Bank Of America (Bofa) lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.50.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of AMAT stock traded up $6.18 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $204.09. 3,818,510 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,695,384. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $203.89 and a 200 day moving average of $173.57. 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 1 year low of $111.72 and a 1 year high of $214.91. The firm has a market cap of $169.58 billion, a PE ratio of 24.01, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.58.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The company had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.06%.

Applied Materials 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.