Unison Asset Management LLC Has $6.13 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Unison Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 30,361 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,067 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises approximately 2.9% of Unison Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Unison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,134,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,509,439 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,084,186 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,199,817,000 after acquiring an additional 81,151 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,679,355 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $945,464,000 after acquiring an additional 44,928 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 2.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $857,615,000 after acquiring an additional 108,827 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.6% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,839,715 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $906,134,000 after acquiring an additional 59,910 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $176.58 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The stock has a market cap of $145.57 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $189.83 and a 200-day moving average of $205.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $144.57 and a one year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on AMAT. Dbs Bank cut shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. B. Riley lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $222.05.

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.