Haverford Trust Co Has $676,000 Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Haverford Trust Co grew its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 26.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,348 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 699 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $676,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 9.8% during the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,690 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,150,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,139,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $230,158,000 after purchasing an additional 15,183 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 29.7% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 134,000 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $27,075,000 after purchasing an additional 30,673 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 8,448 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. Finally, Cumberland Partners Ltd increased its stake in Applied Materials by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 111,695 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $22,568,000 after purchasing an additional 2,464 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $186.00 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $190.88 and its 200-day moving average is $207.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.34 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.94 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.86%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.24.

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.