Kennedy Investment Group Raises Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Kennedy Investment Group boosted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 20.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,000 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. Kennedy Investment Group’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $404,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank raised its stake in Applied Materials by 326.3% during the third 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT traded down $1.73 on Monday, reaching $184.63. 2,145,455 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,081,209. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $195.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $209.24. 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 $152.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Mizuho cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group dropped their price target 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.14.

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.