Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC Purchases 1,100 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 10.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,411 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,306,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $28,000. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on AMAT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. UBS Group cut their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.14.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.3 %

Applied Materials stock traded down $0.53 during trading on Monday, hitting $185.99. 904,960 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,066,577. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business’s 50 day moving average is $193.72 and its 200 day moving average is $208.40. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $154.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.46, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued 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 0.86%. 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.