Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Position Increased by Freedom Investment Management Inc.

Freedom Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 14.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 11,702 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,442 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Hardy Reed LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 7,132 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,441,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 35.3% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 61,905 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,508,000 after buying an additional 16,137 shares in the last quarter. Cadence Bank lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.2% in the third quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 108,469 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $21,916,000 after buying an additional 2,285 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 24.3% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. now owns 412,083 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $83,261,000 after acquiring an additional 80,545 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 7,973 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,611,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $173.20 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $189.26 and a 200-day moving average of $205.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.57 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $142.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.56.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company 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 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Citigroup cut 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. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.05.

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.