Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC Grows Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 50.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,388 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 466 shares during the quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 326.3% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Down 10.7 %

Shares of AMAT traded down $22.87 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $191.02. 16,595,023 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,059,599. The firm has a market cap of $158.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.90, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $195.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $209.83. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. B. Riley lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Dbs Bank downgraded Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.14.

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.