Arbor Trust Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Arbor Trust Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,046 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Arbor Trust Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. First PREMIER Bank grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% during 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 in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. 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 valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 61.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $192.05 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $156.78 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $156.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53. 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 company’s fifty day moving average is $173.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $191.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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. Investors 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 (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.95.

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.