Texas Bank & Trust Co Acquires New Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Texas Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 11,995 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,951,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,039,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $12,528,961,000 after acquiring an additional 487,358 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,079,451 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,260,178,000 after buying an additional 253,078 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,663,780,000 after buying an additional 1,602,645 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,588,422,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,338,520 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,356,094,000 after buying an additional 587,036 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of AMAT traded down $3.50 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $162.23. 5,650,471 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,879,336. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $149.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $165.12. The company has a market cap of $131.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Bank of America cut their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, B. Riley lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.48.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.