Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Acquired by Maple Capital Management Inc.

Maple Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 20.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 83,288 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,419 shares during the quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $13,545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $158.07 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.95 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53. The business’s fifty day moving average is $175.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $183.03.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.92%.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Bank of America reduced their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.38.

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.