Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas Has $1.25 Million Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas reduced its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,191 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 84 shares during the quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 17.3% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 23,949 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,939,000 after buying an additional 3,529 shares during the period. D Orazio & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at about $215,000. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 97,522 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $20,112,000 after buying an additional 10,802 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,184 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,131,000 after buying an additional 1,038 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 7.4% in the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 57,383 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $11,834,000 after acquiring an additional 3,964 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 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 note on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.24.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $186.61 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.94 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.84 billion, a PE ratio of 20.97, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $190.81 and its 200 day moving average is $207.42.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.90 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.40 dividend. 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 payout ratio is 17.98%.

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.