Bank of New Hampshire Raises Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Bank of New Hampshire grew its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,998 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the quarter. Bank of New Hampshire’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 326.3% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 592.9% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT traded up $3.84 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $181.32. The stock had a trading volume of 796,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,746,325. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. The business has a fifty day moving average of $174.65 and a 200 day moving average of $194.22. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $148.24 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $147.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.06, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Susquehanna cut 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.29.

Applied Materials 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.