Xponance Inc. Boosts Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Xponance Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 198,202 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,637 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $46,774,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 96.6% during the 1st quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $192.16 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $159.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business’s 50 day moving average is $198.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $210.17. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $129.21 and a twelve month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.90 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.40 dividend. 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 0.83%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on AMAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.05.

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.