UMB Bank n.a. Increases Stake in Applied Materials, Inc.

In the most recent quarter, UMB Bank n.a. significantly increased its investment in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by an impressive 288.8%. According to the bank's latest 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), UMB Bank now owns 36,516 shares of the company, after acquiring an additional 27,123 shares during this period. At the conclusion of the last reporting period, these holdings were valued at approximately $5,939,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also adjusted their holdings in Applied Materials. In particular, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its position by 341.0% during the third quarter, totaling 2,857,155 shares valued at $577,288,000 after adding 2,209,218 shares in the last quarter. Similarly, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position by 67.8%, owning 4,663,133 shares valued at $942,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,884,153 shares in the same quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp also made noteworthy changes, increasing its stake by 29.8%, now holding 6,571,178 shares valued at $1,327,707,000 after buying 1,509,439 shares recently.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. saw a 262.5% increase, owning 1,390,501 shares valued at $280,951,000 after acquiring 1,006,937 shares. Alkeon Capital Management LLC also increased its holdings by 87.7%, now owning 1,877,133 shares valued at $379,275,000 following the acquisition of an additional 877,133 shares. Overall, institutional investors now control about 80.56% of Applied Materials's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Recent analyst evaluations of AMAT shares have shown a variety of opinions. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered its price target for Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 while maintaining a "hold" rating. The Goldman Sachs Group also reduced their price target from $230.00 to $202.00, issuing a "buy" rating. Meanwhile, Evercore ISI cut the price objective from $260.00 to $250.00 but kept an "outperform" rating. KeyCorp upgraded its rating from "sector weight" to "overweight" with a price target of $225.00. Bank of America lowered its price target to $210.00 from $220.00, while giving the stock a "buy" rating. There remains significant diversity in ratings, with one research analyst issuing a sell rating, seven maintaining hold ratings, and fifteen assigning buy ratings. Currently, the consensus rating sits at "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $218.95.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

On Monday, shares of AMAT began trading at $192.05. The stock has demonstrated significant movement over the past 12 months, registering a low of $156.78 and a high of $255.89. As of now, Applied Materials boasts a market capitalization of $156.27 billion, a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 22.31, and a P/E/G ratio of 1.75, with a beta of 1.53, indicating moderate volatility.

Recently, the company announced its earnings, revealing a per share earnings (EPS) of $2.32, surpassing consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The financial report indicated a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. Revenue was reported at $7.05 billion, which too exceeded analyst projections of $6.96 billion, marking a 4.8% increase from the previous year.

Dividend Announcement

Additionally, Applied Materials declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, set to be distributed on March 13th to stockholders of record as of February 20th. This translates to an annualized dividend of $1.60, yielding 0.83%, with a dividend payout ratio currently at 18.58%.

Company Overview

Applied Materials, Inc. specializes in manufacturing equipment and services for the semiconductor and display industries. It operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment designs and sells equipment crucial for fabricating semiconductor chips and integrated circuits.

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