Old North State Trust LLC Invests $247,000 in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Old North State Trust LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,048 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upgraded Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $165.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Citigroup decreased 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. B. Riley dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.05.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of 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 company has a market cap of $169.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.55, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $195.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. 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%.

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.