Wedmont Private Capital Has $2.09 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 9.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,444 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 860 shares during the quarter. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.1 %

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $205.06 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $169.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.54. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $194.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $209.84.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.90 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on AMAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $228.90.

Applied Materials Company 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.