DT Investment Partners LLC Buys 166 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 592.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $39,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 56.0% during the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.14.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $186.52 on Friday. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $194.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $208.58. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $154.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.44, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.