Pathway Financial Advisers LLC Increases Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 18,569.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 164,849 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 163,966 shares during the quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $33,308,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of AMAT stock traded up $2.77 during trading on Friday, reaching $186.52. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,794,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,091,412. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $129.21 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $193.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $208.42. The company has a market capitalization of $154.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on AMAT. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. B. Riley lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.14.

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.