Meridian Wealth Management LLC Invests $3.26 Million in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 16,145 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,262,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth about $773,611,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Applied Materials by 29.8% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,327,707,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509,439 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 126.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $464,974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259,111 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 262.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,390,501 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $280,951,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006,937 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth about $162,873,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT opened at $174.88 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $189.83 and a 200-day moving average of $205.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.57 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AMAT. Bank of America decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.05.

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.