Guardian Investment Management Invests $657,000 in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Guardian Investment Management acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 3,250 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $657,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,764,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $2,121,000 after buying an additional 4,239 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,338 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $552,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.4% during the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,350 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $699,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Calton & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $243,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $1.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $205.06. The company had a trading volume of 2,604,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,010,298. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $194.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $209.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.57, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $255.89. 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 posted its 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 business had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 0.78%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Mizuho decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.