Park Edge Advisors LLC Buys 99 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Park Edge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,364 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the quarter. Park Edge Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $680,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 6.8% during the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 3,908 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $806,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 75.0% during the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 700 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth approximately $320,000. Breakwater Capital Group raised its stake in Applied Materials by 4.3% in the first quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 1,445 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, LVW Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 18.1% in the first quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 3,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $758,000 after buying an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Dbs Bank cut shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, B. Riley cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.14.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $2.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $186.52. The stock had a trading volume of 4,794,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,091,412. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $154.43 billion, a PE ratio of 21.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $193.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $208.41.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued 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. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.39%.

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.