Stephens Inc. AR Boosts Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Stephens Inc. AR increased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 184.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,816 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,871 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $7,439,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 89.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,988 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,121,000 after purchasing an additional 4,239 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,338 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $552,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 17.3% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 23,949 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,939,000 after acquiring an additional 3,529 shares in the last quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE now owns 51,272 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $10,360,000 after acquiring an additional 7,094 shares in the last quarter. Finally, L & S Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,069,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT opened at $183.38 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $136.67 and a 12-month high of $255.89. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $191.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $207.58. The company has a market capitalization of $151.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.60, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.54.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 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. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Dbs Bank cut Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on 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 target on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, B. Riley decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.14.

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.