Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by West Branch Capital LLC

West Branch Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 276.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 448 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the quarter. West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $91,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC raised its position 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 worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on AMAT. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. B. Riley dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 note on Thursday, October 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.14.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT traded up $3.12 on Friday, hitting $186.36. 5,758,553 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,100,299. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $129.21 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $154.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $195.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $209.23.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 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.