Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Hancock Whitney Corp

Hancock Whitney Corp cut its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 20.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 119,935 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 30,833 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises 1.0% of Hancock Whitney Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $28,304,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $773,611,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Applied Materials by 3,940.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,175,766 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $352,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,121,912 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 126.4% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $464,974,000 after buying an additional 1,259,111 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,117,176 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $12,012,171,000 after buying an additional 973,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $162,873,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $192.16 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $198.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $210.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.09, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. B. Riley cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Barclays raised shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.05.

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.