Orrstown Financial Services Inc. Raises Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Orrstown Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 34.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,392 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,638 shares during the period. Orrstown Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,292,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 326.3% during the third 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. B. Riley reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.14.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of AMAT opened at $185.34 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $153.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.30, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $193.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $208.21. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.90 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

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.