Grove Bank & Trust Acquires 60 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,388 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the quarter. Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,202,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Forum Financial Management LP increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% during the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,847,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Merriman Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.0% in the second quarter. Merriman Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,438 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Biltmore Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, waypoint wealth counsel lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. waypoint wealth counsel now owns 1,853 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AMAT. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Needham & Company LLC decreased 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, Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.95.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock opened at $192.05 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $173.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $191.30. 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 $156.78 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $156.27 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

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.