Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 158 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,095 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $221,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Dbs Bank downgraded Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Susquehanna cut their target price on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.14.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock opened at $186.36 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. 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 price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $195.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $209.23.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion for 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 for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. 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 is currently 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.