Zions Bancorporation N.A. Acquires 79 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,996 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $325,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. City Holding Co. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 61.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $150.68 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $145.37 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.34. The company has a market capitalization of $122.42 billion, a PE ratio of 19.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered 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. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.38.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.