Fifth Third Bancorp Has $81.47 Million Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Fifth Third Bancorp trimmed its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 561,426 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 10,651 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $81,474,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “mixed” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.29.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $137.30 per share, with a total value of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $172.79 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $154.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $163.21. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.67. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback 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 repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.