First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA Raises Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA lifted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund 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 also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 15,703 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,238,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares during the period. Redwood Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth $907,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 173.6% in the first quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 301 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Beacon Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 94.3% in the 1st quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 583 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $120,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Western Trust Bank acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $218,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $222.05.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $0.33 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $172.87. The stock had a trading volume of 272,007 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,150,112. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.57 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $189.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $205.23. The stock has a market cap of $142.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.12, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.56. 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 issued 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. 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Applied Materials’s dividend 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.