Parkside Financial Bank & Trust Buys 893 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 21.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,100 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 893 shares during the quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $829,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho reduced 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 report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.38.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $158.07 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $175.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $183.03. The company has a market capitalization of $128.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.66, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.95 and a 52-week high of $255.89. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 20.92%.

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.