Willis Investment Counsel Grows Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Willis Investment Counsel lifted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 147,384 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 798 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 1.9% of Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $29,779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank increased 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 acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut 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. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.14.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $205.06 on Monday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.57, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $194.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $209.78.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm posted $1.90 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid 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 dividend yield of 0.78%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

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.