Rockland Trust Co. Makes New $388,000 Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Rockland Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 2,388 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $388,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at $33,000. First PREMIER Bank raised its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 592.9% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.7 %

Applied Materials stock opened at $178.32 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.84 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $173.43 and a 200 day moving average of $191.74. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. One investment 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.24.

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.