Private Trust Co. NA Raises Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 9.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,286 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 937 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,280,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WASHINGTON TRUST Co increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 1,556 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 4,016 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $948,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% in the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,847,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.9% in the second quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 6,090 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,437,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.05.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.5 %

Applied Materials stock opened at $175.75 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $144.57 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $189.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $205.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

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.