Ascent Wealth Partners LLC Decreases Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,768 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 113 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up 1.2% of Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $8,641,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 89.3% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,988 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,121,000 after purchasing an additional 4,239 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 5.7% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,338 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $552,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE raised its stake in Applied Materials by 16.1% during the third quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE now owns 51,272 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $10,360,000 after purchasing an additional 7,094 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 17.3% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 23,949 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,939,000 after acquiring an additional 3,529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, L & S Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at about $3,069,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded up $4.00 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $191.52. 163,773 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,041,650. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $191.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $207.37. The company has a market cap of $157.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.61 and a 52 week high of $255.89. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. 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 0.84%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 17.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AMAT. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.14.

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.