Ascent Group LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 128.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,684 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,131 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,563,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at $33,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its position in Applied Materials by 326.3% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 56.0% during the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on AMAT. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.48.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $183.26 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $144.57 and a one year high of $255.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $187.90 and a 200 day moving average of $204.19. The company has a market capitalization of $151.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.56. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

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.