Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Bought by Avestar Capital LLC

Avestar Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,973 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 223 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,611,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. WASHINGTON TRUST Co raised its stake in Applied Materials by 3.3% in the second quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 1,556 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 4,016 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $948,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in Applied Materials by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,847,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 6,090 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,437,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $174.55 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $189.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $205.49. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.57 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $143.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.27, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The company’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. 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 report on Friday, August 16th. Dbs Bank lowered Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $222.05.

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.