Harbor Advisory Corp MA Makes New $232,000 Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Harbor Advisory Corp MA bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,150 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Clean Yield Group bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank increased its stake in Applied Materials by 326.3% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.0 %

NASDAQ AMAT traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $184.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,559,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,072,631. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $195.44 and a 200 day moving average of $209.11. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $129.21 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.16, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AMAT. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 11th. B. Riley lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Eight research 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.14.

About Applied Materials

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.