Bank of New Hampshire Boosts Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Bank of New Hampshire boosted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 326.3% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 592.9% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price objective (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $220.29.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.2 %

Applied Materials stock traded up $3.84 during trading hours 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 stock has a market cap of $147.54 billion, a PE ratio of 21.06, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $148.24 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $194.22.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its 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. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. 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 firm posted $2.12 EPS. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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