Maple Capital Management Inc. Boosts Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Maple Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 20.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 83,288 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,419 shares during the period. Maple Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $13,545,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on AMAT. Bank of America lowered their price objective 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho reduced 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. Citigroup increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $158.07 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $175.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $128.42 billion, a PE ratio of 20.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $153.95 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 20.92%.

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.