Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Sells 433,494 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank reduced its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 43.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 572,859 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 433,494 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $93,164,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, City Holding Co. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.7 %

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $155.68 on Monday. 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 one year low of $149.55 and a one year high of $255.89. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $173.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $180.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors 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 yield of 1.03%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 target price (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.