Kennebec Savings Bank Reduces Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Kennebec Savings Bank lessened its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 18.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 301 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 67 shares during the quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $51,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Integris Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Integris Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,436 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 35,441 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,764,000 after acquiring an additional 705 shares during the period. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,157 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,465,000 after acquiring an additional 1,615 shares during the last quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,051 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,960,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 318,722 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $51,834,000 after purchasing an additional 85,531 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.71.

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $181.72 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $174.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $187.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $158.96 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $147.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.