Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 16.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,950 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $394,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on 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. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, B. Riley reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.14.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.7 %

AMAT opened at $186.36 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $129.21 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $154.30 billion, a PE ratio of 21.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $195.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $209.21. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

About Applied Materials

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.