Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by UMB Bank n.a.

UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 288.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,516 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 27,123 shares during the quarter. UMB Bank n.a.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,939,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 14.9% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 11,927 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,815,000 after purchasing an additional 1,549 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 7.6% during the second quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 3,931 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $928,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 64.5% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,177 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,346,000 after buying an additional 5,561 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 9.2% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 137,188 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $32,375,000 after buying an additional 11,535 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 410,705 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $96,923,000 after acquiring an additional 2,222 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.0 %

AMAT stock traded up $5.57 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $192.05. The company had a trading volume of 8,101,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,337,131. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.78 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $173.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $190.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. The company has a market capitalization of $156.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $218.95.

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.