MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. Takes Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 182 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $37,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. JT Stratford LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 10,890 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,246,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.3% during the second quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 1,556 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 4,016 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $948,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% in the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,847,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $170.73 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $190.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $206.68. 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 company has a market cap of $140.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.57 and a 12 month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.71%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, B. Riley decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $219.81.

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.