Private Trust Co. NA Sells 3,874 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Private Trust Co. NA decreased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 34.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,412 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,874 shares during the quarter. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,205,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $857,615,000 after acquiring an additional 108,827 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 23.8% in the 3rd quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 1,799 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at about $237,000. HM Payson & Co. grew its position in Applied Materials by 10.5% during the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 10,315 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,084,000 after buying an additional 984 shares during the period. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at about $144,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $158.07 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $153.95 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $175.38 and its 200 day moving average is $183.03. The company has a market cap of $128.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.66, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 20.92%.

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.