Independent Advisor Alliance Lowers Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Independent Advisor Alliance decreased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 29.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,894 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 7,798 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,818,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 64.3% during the 1st quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 7,078 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,460,000 after buying an additional 2,770 shares in the last quarter. Interval Partners LP raised its stake in Applied Materials by 7,433.3% in the 1st quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 11,000 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,269,000 after purchasing an additional 11,150 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 15,703 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,238,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $907,000. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 173.6% in the 1st quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 301 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $222.05.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $174.55 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $189.57 and a 200 day moving average of $205.49. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.57 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $143.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.56. 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) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 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. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Applied Materials Company 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.