Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Position Boosted by GLOBALT Investments LLC GA

GLOBALT Investments LLC GA increased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,191 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,059,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 29.8% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,327,707,000 after buying an additional 1,509,439 shares in the last quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 47.0% in the 3rd quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 67,915 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $13,722,000 after acquiring an additional 21,699 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,139,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $230,158,000 after purchasing an additional 15,183 shares during the period. Stiles Financial Services Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 252.0% during the third quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 4,734 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $957,000 after purchasing an additional 3,389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 26.9% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 52,639 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,636,000 after purchasing an additional 11,165 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target 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. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $219.81.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $170.73 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $190.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $206.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.83, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.57 and a 1-year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.71%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.12 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.52 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 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.