First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Sells 4,116 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lessened its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 6.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,584 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 4,116 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $11,635,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.5% in the third quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,892 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,595,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 13,739 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,776,000 after purchasing an additional 5,841 shares in the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 13,447 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,717,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,950 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accurate Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,709 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,666,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, B. Riley reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.14.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT opened at $186.36 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $195.61 and its 200 day moving average is $209.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $154.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.42, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

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.