1,978 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Acquired by Camden National Bank

Camden National Bank purchased a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,978 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $400,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.3% in the second quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 1,556 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 4,016 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $948,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.7% during the second quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP increased its position 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 buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 0.9% during the second quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 6,090 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,437,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $174.88 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $144.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.57 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $189.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $205.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com cut Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.05.

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.