Fulton Bank N.A. Reduces Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Fulton Bank N.A. decreased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,043 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 464 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,163,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 18,113 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,764,000 after buying an additional 2,108 shares during the last quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Silicon Valley Capital Partners acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Mcdonald Partners LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $204,000. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 2,580 shares during the last quarter. 77.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. New Street Research downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Applied Materials from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $152.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twenty-two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.04, for a total value of $150,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 106,023 shares in the company, valued at $15,907,690.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.00, for a total value of $1,420,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 69,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,869,568. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.04, for a total value of $150,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 106,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,907,690.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $144.57 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.30 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. The company has a market capitalization of $121.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a 50 day moving average of $144.98 and a 200 day moving average of $131.51.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 17th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.16. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.27% and a return on equity of 49.29%. The business had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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 fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 24th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.89%.

Applied Materials 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.