Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC Purchases 6,638 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 89,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,638 shares during the quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $18,056,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $28,000. PSI Advisors LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 56.0% in the 2nd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank raised its stake in Applied Materials by 326.3% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $186.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. The company has a market capitalization of $153.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $141.94 and a one year high of $255.89. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $190.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $207.13.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 17.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Eight investment 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $219.81.

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.