UMB Bank n.a. Sells 26,098 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

UMB Bank n.a. lowered its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 71.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,418 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 26,098 shares during the quarter. UMB Bank n.a.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 17,246 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,805,000 after acquiring an additional 2,536 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 1.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $15,303,000. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,309 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,490,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, 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. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, B. Riley cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.29.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded down $4.41 during trading on Friday, hitting $170.59. The stock had a trading volume of 5,292,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,974,274. The firm has a market cap of $136.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.30, a P/E/G 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 business's 50-day moving average is $155.19 and its 200 day moving average is $163.22. 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 released 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 firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. Applied Materials's dividend 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.