Advyzon Investment Management LLC Takes Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Advyzon Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,136 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. IMA Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 75.8% in the second quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. now owns 10,494 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,921,000 after acquiring an additional 4,524 shares during the period. Fund Evaluation Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth $225,000. Davidson Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Davidson Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,598 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,953 shares during the period. STF Management LP raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. STF Management LP now owns 12,896 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,361,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. Finally, PCG Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at $247,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Bank of America upgraded Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Wolfe Research lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Summit Insights downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $212.31.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $230.73 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $209.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $186.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $183.81 billion, a PE ratio of 27.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.84. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $242.50.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.96% and a net margin of 23.88%.The company had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 21.93%.

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.