Adirondack Trust Co. Grows Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Adirondack Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,369 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the quarter. Adirondack Trust Co.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,691,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.1 %

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $205.06 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The firm has a market cap of $169.78 billion, a PE ratio of 23.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a 50-day moving average of $194.46 and a 200 day moving average of $209.84. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $129.21 and a 1-year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on AMAT. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $228.90.

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.