Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by MidWestOne Financial Group Inc.

MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,311 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,073,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. First PREMIER Bank increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 56.0% during the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AMAT. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.29.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $168.17 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. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $148.05 and a one year high of $255.89. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $185.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $202.74. The company has a market cap of $138.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.53, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.52.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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 $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

About Applied Materials

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.