Independence Bank of Kentucky Has $144,000 Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 75.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 700 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $144,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Finally, First United Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded up $3.46 during trading on Friday, reaching $235.99. The company had a trading volume of 6,387,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,592,667. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $249.42. The stock has a market cap of $195.39 billion, a PE ratio of 27.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.56. The business’s 50-day moving average is $218.22 and its 200 day moving average is $195.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $12,458,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total value of $1,597,650.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 78,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,767,230.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $12,458,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock valued at $21,382,560. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. B. Riley lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.84.

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.