Guinness Asset Management LTD Buys 47,245 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 27.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 217,678 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 47,245 shares during the quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $35,403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at $33,000. First PREMIER Bank increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.0 %

AMAT traded up $5.57 during trading on Monday, reaching $192.05. 8,101,765 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,337,131. 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 stock's 50 day moving average price is $173.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $190.58. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $156.78 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The stock 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $218.95.

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.