Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. Grows Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,839 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $777,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lincoln National Corp increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 50.9% in the 1st quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 12,139 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,503,000 after acquiring an additional 4,094 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 3.5% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 16,221 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,345,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the period. Smith Salley Wealth Management acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $257,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth $57,000. Finally, Pictet North America Advisors SA purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $813,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target 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 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.14.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $183.07. 904,957 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,063,070. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $191.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $207.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The company has a market cap of $150.92 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.21 and a twelve month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.90 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders 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 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 17.98%.

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.