Heartland Bank & Trust Co Makes New Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Heartland Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,840 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $267,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report 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 on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.29.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $169.46 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $135.99 billion, a PE ratio of 20.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.67. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $159.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $162.89. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. Applied Materials's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

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.

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