Argent Trust Co Buys 6,634 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Key Points

• Argent Trust Co increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. by 39.1%, acquiring an additional 6,634 shares, and now holds a total of 23,590 shares valued at approximately $3.42 million.
• Applied Materials reported a quarterly earnings surprise, earning $2.39 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.31, with revenue for the quarter reaching $7.10 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46, which translates to an annualized dividend yield of 1.0% and reflects a payout ratio of 22.38%.

Argent Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 39.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,590 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,634 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,603,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Oarsman Capital Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 1,613 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $7,318,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 target price on Applied Materials and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Mizuho upped their target price on Applied Materials from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Nine 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.09.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock traded down $4.46 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $178.37. 1,334,948 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,232,340. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $215.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46. The firm has a market cap of $143.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.70. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $180.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

About Applied Materials

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.