Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Acquires 544 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 100,292 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 544 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $20,264,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Clean Yield Group bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 56.0% during the second 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $174.71 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $188.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $204.41. The company has a market cap of $144.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.29, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $144.57 and a one year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Dbs Bank cut Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.48.

About Applied Materials

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.