Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc Acquires 2,892 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,365 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,892 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises approximately 3.2% of Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth $33,000. First PREMIER Bank boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 61.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on 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, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.95.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock opened at $192.05 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $156.78 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The business’s fifty day moving average is $173.10 and its 200-day moving average is $190.95. The company has a market cap of $156.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The firm 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%. The company’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

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.