Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC Makes New Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 884 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth $1,764,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 89.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,988 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,121,000 after purchasing an additional 4,239 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.4% in the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,350 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $699,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.7% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,338 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $552,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Calton & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth $243,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.3 %

AMAT opened at $192.16 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $198.35 and a 200 day moving average of $210.18. The company has a market cap of $159.10 billion, a PE ratio of 22.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 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 net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. B. Riley dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Eight equities 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.05.

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.