Plimoth Trust Co. LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Plimoth Trust Co. LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,450 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises 1.5% of Plimoth Trust Co. LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,765,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Forum Financial Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% during the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,847,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.0% during the third quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5.3% during the third quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $221,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Field & Main Bank raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 3,170 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, waypoint wealth counsel raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.1% during the third quarter. waypoint wealth counsel now owns 1,853 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.71.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.8 %

AMAT stock traded up $1.46 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $174.31. The stock had a trading volume of 1,220,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,590,156. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $158.96 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company’s 50 day moving average is $174.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $187.64. The company has a market capitalization of $141.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.