Beech Hill Advisors Inc. Acquires 133 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Beech Hill Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,198 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up approximately 2.2% of Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,887,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 592.9% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AMAT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price objective (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company 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 given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.24.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded up $6.63 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $185.01. 1,371,347 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,292,965. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.20 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $173.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $191.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. The company has a market cap of $150.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.49, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during 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%. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

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.