First National Trust Co Reduces Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

First National Trust Co reduced its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund 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).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AJOVista LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $128,000. Provence Wealth Management Group lifted its position in Applied Materials by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group now owns 3,937 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $638,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,992 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $647,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,476 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,255 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group raised their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $220.00 to $260.00 in a report on Monday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. Finally, B. Riley raised their price target on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.50.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.1 %

NASDAQ AMAT 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. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $111.72 and a 52 week high of $214.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $203.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.57. The stock has a market cap of $169.58 billion, a PE ratio of 24.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.58. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The business had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s payout ratio 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.