Valued Wealth Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Valued Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 23.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 319 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 98 shares during the quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $64,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 89.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,988 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,121,000 after purchasing an additional 4,239 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 5.7% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,338 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $552,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 17.3% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 23,949 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,939,000 after purchasing an additional 3,529 shares in the last quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE now owns 51,272 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,360,000 after acquiring an additional 7,094 shares during the period. Finally, L & S Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $3,069,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT traded up $1.88 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $183.46. 264,535 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,058,696. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $192.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $207.74. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $136.67 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.25 billion, a PE ratio of 20.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. B. Riley dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Dbs Bank cut Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.14.

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.