Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Bought by First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA

First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,147 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 107 shares during the quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,040,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $28,000. PSI Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 56.0% during the 2nd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank raised its position in Applied Materials by 326.3% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $0.33 on Wednesday, hitting $172.87. 272,007 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,150,112. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $189.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $205.23. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $144.57 and a one year high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.12, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $222.05.

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.