Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Purchases 1,436 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 30.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,108 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 1,436 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $886,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 972.2% during the 1st quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded down $2.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $190.44. 4,754,744 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,118,549. 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 price is $175.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $165.79. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $224.09. The company has a market cap of $152.83 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.69.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given 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 0.97%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America dropped 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. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.