Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. Purchases 275 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. lifted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,869 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $183.38 on Monday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $136.67 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $191.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $207.63. The stock has a market cap of $151.18 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 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 firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.14.

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.