Traveka Wealth LLC Grows Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Traveka Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,385 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $280,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd 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. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $228.90.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded up $2.33 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $202.46. 731,903 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,034,037. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $194.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $209.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The company has a market cap of $167.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.20, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.54. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its 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. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

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.