Union Savings Bank Increases Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Union Savings Bank grew its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,428 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the quarter. Union Savings Bank’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,032,850 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,389,048,000 after acquiring an additional 456,865 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 570,080 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,514,814,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,017,147 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $813,129,000 after buying an additional 130,238 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,968,838 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $687,936,000 after purchasing an additional 230,789 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT traded down $1.65 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $218.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,039,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,812,647. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $120.18 and a 12 month high of $221.75. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $205.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $180.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The company has a market cap of $181.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.58.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.00 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. This is a boost 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 is presently 14.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.64.

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.