Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Acquired by Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc.

Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,219 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 809 shares during the quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank grew its stake in Applied Materials by 326.3% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 target price (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.95.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $192.05 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $173.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $190.95. The company has a market cap of $156.27 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.78 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 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, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

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.