Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 40.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,597 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,576 shares during the quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,980,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Camden National Bank acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $400,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,262,000. Allen Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 1,554 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $643,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $174.88 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.57 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $144.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a 50 day moving average of $189.83 and a 200-day moving average of $205.72.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share 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. 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 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Dbs Bank lowered Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, B. Riley cut their price target on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.05.

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.