Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. Buys 254 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,839 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $777,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services increased its stake in Applied Materials by 63.9% during the 3rd quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services now owns 25,360 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,124,000 after purchasing an additional 9,886 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 13.1% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,006,828 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $405,480,000 after buying an additional 232,317 shares during the last quarter. Cohen Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.5% during the third quarter. Cohen Capital Management Inc. now owns 154,975 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $31,313,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 1,869 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ground Swell Capital LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ground Swell Capital LLC now owns 2,369 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $479,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $183.07. The stock had a trading volume of 904,957 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,063,070. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.21 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $191.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $207.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.92 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given 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 0.87%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com cut Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.