Empirical Finance LLC Boosts Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,350 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,930,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. PSI Advisors LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 56.0% in the 2nd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $169.18 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $190.88 and a 200 day moving average of $207.13. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.94 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.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.90 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup cut their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $219.81.

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.