Citizens National Bank Trust Department Grows Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Citizens National Bank Trust Department increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,893 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up 1.2% of Citizens National Bank Trust Department’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Citizens National Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hardy Reed LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 7,253 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,180,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 984.7% during the fourth quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 105,783 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $17,204,000 after buying an additional 96,031 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in Applied Materials by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 356,894 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $58,042,000 after buying an additional 20,299 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 203.6% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 41,039 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,674,000 after buying an additional 27,523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 37,263 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $6,060,000 after acquiring an additional 6,365 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $174.06 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $141.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $158.96 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $184.05.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup upped their target price on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho dropped 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 note on Friday, January 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective 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, November 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.