Vest Financial LLC Has $30.04 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 54.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 148,649 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 52,316 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $30,035,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank raised its position 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 valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. StockNews.com cut Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. B. Riley lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $229.14.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.7 %

AMAT traded up $3.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $186.36. 5,758,553 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,100,299. The stock has a market cap of $154.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.42, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. 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 is $195.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.24. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The company 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.