Peloton Wealth Strategists Increases Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Peloton Wealth Strategists increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,290 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,285 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises 2.2% of Peloton Wealth Strategists’ portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Peloton Wealth Strategists’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,514,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SGL Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $759,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 32.9% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,518,655 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $306,844,000 after purchasing an additional 376,191 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 136,840 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $27,649,000 after purchasing an additional 10,631 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 61.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Main Management ETF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $784,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $220.29.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $173.02 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $142.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.52. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.57 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $185.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $203.06. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

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.