BSW Wealth Partners Has $860,000 Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

BSW Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,259 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the quarter. BSW Wealth Partners’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. PSI Advisors LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 56.0% in the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank increased its stake in Applied Materials by 326.3% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.0 %

Applied Materials stock traded up $1.80 on Friday, hitting $183.38. 6,318,878 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,086,934. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $136.67 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $151.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.54. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $191.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $207.57.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The business 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%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors 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 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

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Susquehanna cut their target price on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.14.

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.