Harmony Asset Management LLC Has $5.75 Million Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Harmony Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,461 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 985 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up approximately 2.1% of Harmony Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Harmony Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,750,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank grew 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 purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 56.0% in the 2nd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $183.26 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.57 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $151.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $187.90 and its 200 day moving average is $204.19.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. 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. UBS Group decreased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.48.

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.