Davis R M Inc. Purchases 934 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Davis R M Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,293 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 934 shares during the period. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $867,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $28,000. PSI Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 56.0% in the 2nd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank grew its holdings 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 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

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. B. Riley cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com cut Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $222.05.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $174.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $143.90 billion, a PE ratio of 20.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.57 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $189.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $205.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

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.