Creative Planning Purchases 27,348 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 13.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 223,520 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 27,348 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $43,910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 14.6% in the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 7,013 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 893 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional increased its stake in Applied Materials by 344.7% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 20,945 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,232,000 after buying an additional 16,235 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 306,787 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $61,986,000 after buying an additional 19,100 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 63.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stablepoint Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 6,353 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,284,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.14.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT opened at $186.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $154.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. The business’s fifty day moving average is $195.61 and its 200-day moving average is $209.23. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $255.89. 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, 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 return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

Applied Materials 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.