Trustco Bank Corp N Y Reduces Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Trustco Bank Corp N Y decreased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,587 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 325 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for about 5.0% of Trustco Bank Corp N Y’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Trustco Bank Corp N Y’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,649,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Edward Jones raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.48.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $165.57 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $149.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $134.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits 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.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

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.