Whitford Management LLC Takes Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Whitford Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 15,966 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,226,000. Applied Materials accounts for about 1.8% of Whitford Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup reduced 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 report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.76.

Applied Materials Stock Down 5.0 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $172.03 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.57 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $141.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.52. The company’s 50 day moving average is $186.55 and its 200 day moving average is $203.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

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.