Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC cut its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 31.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,358 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 621 shares during the period. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. PSI Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 56.0% in the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. B. Riley decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced 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 report on Tuesday, September 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.14.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $183.14 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $192.41 and a 200-day moving average of $207.92. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $151.64 billion, a PE ratio of 21.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The company 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 firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

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.