Arbor Trust Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases 275 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Arbor Trust Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,940 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 275 shares during the quarter. Arbor Trust Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $963,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 76.9% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth $40,000. Finally, RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.8 %

AMAT traded up $3.80 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $209.48. The stock had a trading volume of 3,748,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,197,840. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.71. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $200.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.34. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $109.00 and a twelve month high of $214.91. The company has a market capitalization of $174.06 billion, a PE ratio of 24.29, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.59.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The firm had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.50.

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.