Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Holdings Boosted by Advisory Resource Group

Advisory Resource Group lifted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 22.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 24,867 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,561 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up approximately 1.1% of Advisory Resource Group’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Advisory Resource Group’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,024,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. SlateStone Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.7% in the second quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% during the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,847,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Merriman Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Merriman Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,438 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Sargent Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.0% in the third quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Biltmore Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5.3% during the third 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price target (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $220.29.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $170.90 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.53, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $148.05 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $185.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $202.74.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS 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 business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.45 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.58%.

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.