Global Assets Advisory LLC Takes $209,000 Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,061 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank increased its stake in Applied Materials by 326.3% in 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 in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.14.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $183.75 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $194.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $208.75. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.39%.

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.