HWG Holdings LP Takes Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 604 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $143,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT opened at $204.92 on Monday. 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 has a market capitalization 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $195.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $210.01. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.90 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. 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 report on Friday, August 16th. 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 report on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.