NewEdge Advisors LLC Acquires 136,973 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 232.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 195,903 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 136,973 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $46,232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 96.6% during the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $204.92 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $169.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $195.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $209.95.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Dbs Bank lowered Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Barclays raised shares of Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.