Busey Bank Has $29.02 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Busey Bank lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 178,420 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,679 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises about 1.0% of Busey Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Busey Bank’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $29,016,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% during the third 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. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 592.9% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AMAT. Bank of America reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.71.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.4 %

AMAT opened at $175.28 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $142.45 billion, a PE ratio of 20.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $158.96 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a fifty day moving average of $174.15 and a 200-day moving average of $187.64.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

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.