GLOBALT Investments LLC GA Purchases 84 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

GLOBALT Investments LLC GA increased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,191 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,059,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 326.3% during 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. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 56.0% in the 2nd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT opened at $170.73 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $190.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.57 and a 52 week high of $255.89. 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 data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.71% and a net margin of 26.41%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on AMAT. Susquehanna cut their target price on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $219.81.

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.