Comerica Bank Has $28.98 Million Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Comerica Bank cut its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 16.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 178,210 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 36,044 shares during the period. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $28,982,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.86.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $150.71 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $148.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.70. The firm has a market cap of $122.44 billion, a PE ratio of 19.70, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

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.