M&T Bank Corp Sells 2,949 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

M&T Bank Corp lessened its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 310,539 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 2,949 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $50,503,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 45,469 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $7,395,000 after purchasing an additional 1,757 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 220,453 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $35,852,000 after acquiring an additional 26,482 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co grew its stake in Applied Materials by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 21,784 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,543,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 117,456 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $19,102,000 after purchasing an additional 5,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jag Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 25,041 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $4,072,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of AMAT traded up $2.45 on Wednesday, hitting $155.32. 5,858,137 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,864,508. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.55 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The stock's 50 day moving average is $174.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.38.

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.