Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 26.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 71,210 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 14,891 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up 0.8% of Larson Financial Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Larson Financial Group LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $14,388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. First PREMIER Bank increased 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 purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 56.0% in the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.
A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. B. Riley lowered 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $179.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $222.05.
Get Our Latest Report on AMAT
Applied Materials stock opened at $174.88 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $189.83 and a 200-day moving average of $205.72. The company has a market capitalization of $144.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.57 and a 1 year high of $255.89. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The company's revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.
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.
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