Trust Co. of Vermont Reduces Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Trust Co. of Vermont lowered its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 131,849 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 7,842 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises 1.0% of Trust Co. of Vermont’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $21,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 61.4% in 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 target price (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.41.

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.0 %

NASDAQ AMAT traded up $5.57 during trading on Friday, reaching $192.05. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,101,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,337,131. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $173.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $191.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $156.78 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $156.27 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. 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.