M&T Bank Corp Buys 355,926 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 106.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 690,160 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 355,926 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp owned approximately 0.08% of Applied Materials worth $139,447,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lantz Financial LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at about $212,000. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 123.4% in the second quarter. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. now owns 4,051 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $956,000 after acquiring an additional 2,238 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 13.9% during the 2nd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 21,021 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $4,961,000 after acquiring an additional 2,567 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 92.4% during the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 504 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 2,421 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.1 %

AMAT traded down $3.69 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $168.17. 8,226,442 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,201,802. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $148.05 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The stock's 50-day moving average is $185.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $202.74. The stock has a market cap of $138.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.53, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. B. Riley reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $220.29.

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.