Peoples Bank OH Sells 140 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Peoples Bank OH cut its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,165 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 140 shares during the period. Peoples Bank OH’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $653,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total value of $4,446,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total value of $554,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 76,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,890,103.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 17th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.84.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $5.18 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $251.47. 4,889,861 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,699,036. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $252.13. The company has a market cap of $208.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.90, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.80. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $224.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $200.17.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its 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. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.00 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

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.