Rench Wealth Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Rench Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 31,428 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,195 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises about 2.2% of Rench Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Rench Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank grew its position 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 worth $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC grew 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 buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $181.16 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.57 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $187.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $203.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.35 billion, a PE ratio of 21.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.52.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business 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 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup lowered 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. B. Riley lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.48.

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.