Arvest Investments Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Arvest Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,961 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Arvest Investments Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 326.3% in 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. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ AMAT traded down $2.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $192.03. The company had a trading volume of 4,767,343 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,360,265. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $190.99 and a 200 day moving average of $207.40. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $141.94 and a 1-year high of $255.89.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Dbs Bank lowered Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.14.

Applied Materials 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.