LPL Financial LLC Purchases 48,861 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 557,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 48,861 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $112,656,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.7% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 34,379 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $6,946,000 after buying an additional 1,860 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,053,230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $212,805,000 after acquiring an additional 116,312 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 4,037 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $816,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 51,700 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $10,446,000 after purchasing an additional 8,600 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 0.5% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 49,408 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $9,983,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $222.05.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $174.88 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.57 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. The stock has a market cap of $144.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.56. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $189.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $205.74.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 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.