Eastern Bank Cuts Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Key Points

• Eastern Bank reduced its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. by 5.6% during the first quarter, leaving it with 113,929 shares worth approximately $16.5 million.
• Wells Fargo and Citigroup have raised their price targets on Applied Materials shares, reflecting optimism with prices set at $215.00 and $220.00, respectively.
• A quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share has been declared by Applied Materials, reflecting an annual yield of 0.98%, with the payout ratio at 22.38%.

Eastern Bank reduced its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 5.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 113,929 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 6,813 shares during the period. Eastern Bank's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $16,533,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brucke Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Brucke Financial Inc. now owns 2,769 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd raised its position in Applied Materials by 790.9% in the 1st quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 35,280 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $5,120,000 after purchasing an additional 31,320 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 18.1% during the first quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 69,601 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $10,111,000 after buying an additional 10,646 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth approximately $7,070,000. Finally, RD Finance Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth approximately $2,024,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AMAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Mizuho increased 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. Barclays set a $170.00 target price on Applied Materials and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $205.17.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $0.98 on Wednesday, reaching $189.39. The stock had a trading volume of 3,958,519 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,725,215. The company has a market cap of $151.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The firm's fifty day moving average is $179.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.88. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $215.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion for 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

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.