Farmers Trust Co. Has $694,000 Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Farmers Trust Co. raised its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,435 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 62 shares during the quarter. Farmers Trust Co.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $694,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 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 position in Applied Materials by 3,940.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,175,766 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $352,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,121,912 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 126.4% during the 1st 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 during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $12,012,171,000 after buying an additional 973,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at about $162,873,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $199.59 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $194.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $209.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.26 billion, a PE ratio of 22.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.55. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. 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 0.80%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AMAT. Dbs Bank lowered Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $228.90.

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.