Heritage Trust Co Has $3.22 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Heritage Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,215 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the quarter. Heritage Trust Co’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,220,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 18,113 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,108 shares during the period. Silicon Valley Capital Partners bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Mcdonald Partners LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Claro Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 109.7% in the 4th quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 4,931 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $480,000 after acquiring an additional 2,580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 3,563 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on AMAT. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Applied Materials from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Craig Hallum boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $139.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $152.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. Finally, Redburn Partners initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, June 13th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.08.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, VP Timothy M. Deane sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.30, for a total transaction of $1,029,750.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 100,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,834,210.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Timothy M. Deane sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.30, for a total value of $1,029,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 100,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,834,210.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 1,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.04, for a total transaction of $150,040.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 106,023 shares in the company, valued at $15,907,690.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,500 shares of company stock worth $2,599,790. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock traded down $1.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $152.60. The stock had a trading volume of 912,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,033,771. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $144.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $71.12 and a 52 week high of $155.26.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 17th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.16. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 49.29% and a net margin of 24.27%. The firm had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 7.85 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 23rd. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 16.89%.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. It 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.