Truvestments Capital LLC Buys 13,541 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 233.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,349 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,541 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises 1.0% of Truvestments Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Truvestments Capital LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,909,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.3% during the second quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 1,556 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% in the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 4,016 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $948,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 4.7% during the second quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,847,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 6,090 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,437,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $222.05.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $175.50 on Monday. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $189.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $205.71. The company has a market capitalization of $144.68 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.57 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.