Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 6.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,146 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 3,937 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $9,019,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 3,734 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 1,862 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co raised its position in Applied Materials by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,061 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $173,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 3,062 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $498,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 977 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $159,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock traded up $2.21 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $175.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,466,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,962,260. The stock has a market cap of $140.44 billion, a PE ratio of 22.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company has a 50 day moving average of $154.35 and a 200 day moving average of $163.21. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 22.38%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen cut their target price on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. B. Riley reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.29.

Applied Materials Company 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.