Evermay Wealth Management LLC Acquires 101 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Evermay Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,141 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $837,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on AMAT. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. 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 report on Friday, August 16th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.14.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT traded down $2.75 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $187.37. The stock had a trading volume of 853,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,056,689. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $192.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $208.08. The firm has a market cap of $155.14 billion, a PE ratio of 21.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.39%.

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.