Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Acquired by Sunflower Bank N.A.

Sunflower Bank N.A. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,628 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the period. Sunflower Bank N.A.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $531,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth $773,611,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Applied Materials by 3,940.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,175,766 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $352,626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,121,912 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 126.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $464,974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259,111 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,117,176 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $12,012,171,000 after purchasing an additional 973,218 shares during the period. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $162,873,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Dbs Bank downgraded Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.14.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock traded up $1.10 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $205.06. 2,604,134 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,010,298. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. The business’s 50-day moving average is $194.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.90 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

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.