Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Acquired by Cadence Bank

Cadence Bank lifted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 108,469 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,285 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up about 1.5% of Cadence Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Cadence Bank’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $21,916,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. First PREMIER Bank increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC raised its position 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 valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. B. Riley cut their target price on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.05.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.8 %

AMAT opened at $173.20 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $189.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $205.23. The company has a market cap of $142.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.12, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $144.57 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders 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 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

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.