Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by United Community Bank

United Community Bank raised its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 139.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,546 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,650 shares during the quarter. United Community Bank’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $739,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Swedbank AB grew its position in Applied Materials by 2.6% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $857,615,000 after acquiring an additional 108,827 shares during the period. M&G PLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 72.4% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 16,156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,264,000 after purchasing an additional 6,786 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.5% in the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 27,366 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,435 shares during the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 32.1% during the third quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,688 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,351,000 after buying an additional 1,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc raised its stake in Applied Materials by 1.0% during the third quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 55,149 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $11,142,000 after buying an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT opened at $155.68 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.55 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $173.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $181.01. 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) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 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, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 20.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. One equities 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.