Truvestments Capital LLC Boosts Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Truvestments Capital LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 233.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 19,349 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,541 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up 1.0% of Truvestments Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Truvestments Capital LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,327,707,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509,439 shares during the period. WoodTrust Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 47.0% during the 3rd quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 67,915 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $13,722,000 after acquiring an additional 21,699 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,139,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $230,158,000 after acquiring an additional 15,183 shares during the period. Stiles Financial Services Inc increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 252.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 4,734 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $957,000 after purchasing an additional 3,389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 26.9% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 52,639 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,636,000 after purchasing an additional 11,165 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $175.50 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $189.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $205.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.57 and a twelve month high of $255.89. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.12 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.05.

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.