Garner Asset Management Corp Has $2.60 Million Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Garner Asset Management Corp trimmed its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 12,863 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 216 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for about 1.2% of Garner Asset Management Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Garner Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 326.3% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 56.0% during the 2nd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AMAT. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $222.05.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $174.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. The firm has a market cap of $144.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.57 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $189.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $205.72.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. 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.