Cadence Bank Purchases 2,285 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Cadence Bank grew its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 108,469 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,285 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises approximately 1.5% of Cadence Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Cadence Bank’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $21,916,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $28,000. Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. First PREMIER Bank increased 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 buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 56.0% in the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.05.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $173.20 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $142.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.12, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $144.57 and a one year high of $255.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $189.26 and a 200 day moving average of $205.23.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

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.