Retirement Guys Formula LLC Buys 767 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Retirement Guys Formula LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 13.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,383 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 767 shares during the period. Retirement Guys Formula LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,290,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth about $773,611,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 126.4% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $464,974,000 after buying an additional 1,259,111 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,008,622 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $15,469,028,000 after buying an additional 891,446 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $162,873,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,623,048 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $953,411,000 after purchasing an additional 784,780 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, B. Riley dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.14.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock traded down $1.51 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $184.85. 2,289,919 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,081,921. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $195.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $209.24. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.