Somerset Trust Co Has $341,000 Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Somerset Trust Co raised its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 30.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,096 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the period. Somerset Trust Co’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $341,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank increased its position in Applied Materials by 326.3% during 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. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 61.4% during 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 during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.41.

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.0 %

AMAT stock opened at $192.05 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $173.10 and its 200-day moving average is $191.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $156.78 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.27 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly 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 company 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 firm’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 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 given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

About Applied Materials

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.