First Hawaiian Bank Reduces Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

First Hawaiian Bank cut its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 17.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,781 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,532 shares during the quarter. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,916,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Clean Yield Group bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. First PREMIER Bank increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 326.3% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 592.9% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $176.99 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $174.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $193.70. The company has a market cap of $144.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $148.24 and a 12 month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders 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 0.90%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued 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 $220.29.

Applied Materials 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.