EP Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 8,584 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 17.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 58,852 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,584 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $13,888,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 56.0% during the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Barclays raised Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.05.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $204.92 on Monday. 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. The stock 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $195.62 and its 200-day moving average is $210.01.

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. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

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.