West Oak Capital LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

West Oak Capital LLC grew its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,447 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the quarter. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,717,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 56.0% in the 2nd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. B. Riley decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, UBS Group lowered 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.14.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $186.36 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $154.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.42, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $195.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $209.21.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.