JGP Wealth Management LLC Has $555,000 Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

JGP Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,748 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $555,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Clean Yield Group bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 326.3% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup cut their target price on 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 decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. B. Riley reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.14.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.1 %

AMAT stock traded up $2.25 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $206.21. 1,009,769 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,002,210. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $194.48 and its 200-day moving average is $209.76. The company has a market cap of $170.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.80, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 17.98%.

Applied Materials Company 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.