Townsquare Capital LLC Raises Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 35.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 61,905 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 16,137 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $12,508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Clean Yield Group bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 56.0% during the 2nd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on AMAT. Morgan Stanley decreased 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 note on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Eight research 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 stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $222.05.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $171.32 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $144.57 and a one year high of $255.89. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $188.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $204.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

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.