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

Sargent Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,415 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Sargent Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $286,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. PSI Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 56.0% during the 2nd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank boosted its position 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 worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, B. Riley lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.24.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $2.72 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $185.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,264,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,052,460. The firm has a market cap of $152.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.56. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $190.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $207.13. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $141.94 and a 1 year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.90 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.