Central Bank & Trust Co. Sells 5,964 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Central Bank & Trust Co. lessened its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 40.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,803 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 5,964 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,277,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% in the fourth 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 253,078 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in 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 valued at $1,663,780,000 after buying an additional 1,602,645 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,588,422,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,338,520 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,356,094,000 after buying an additional 587,036 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of AMAT traded up $2.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $166.74. 5,678,527 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,965,711. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67. The business's 50-day moving average price is $152.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.19. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $255.89.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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 stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price target (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.