Optas LLC Has $471,000 Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Optas LLC grew its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 22.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,896 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 537 shares during the quarter. Optas LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rheos Capital Works Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 170,100 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $27,663,000 after buying an additional 4,500 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $56,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 166,922 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $27,147,000 after purchasing an additional 2,313 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $225,000. Finally, Willis Investment Counsel lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 148,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $24,119,000 after buying an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.71.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $178.80 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $158.96 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $174.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $186.41. The firm has a market cap of $145.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.