CWA Asset Management Group LLC Invests $2.73 Million in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 13,491 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,726,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. WoodTrust Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 47.0% during the third quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 67,915 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $13,722,000 after purchasing an additional 21,699 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 89.3% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,988 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,121,000 after acquiring an additional 4,239 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.7% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,338 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $552,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 16.1% during the third quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE now owns 51,272 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,360,000 after purchasing an additional 7,094 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 17.3% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 23,949 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,939,000 after purchasing an additional 3,529 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, B. Riley reduced their price objective on 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.14.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $192.03 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $190.99 and its 200-day moving average is $207.30. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $141.94 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 17.98%.

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.