Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 8,388 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 156,106 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,388 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $31,541,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Clean Yield Group bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 326.3% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 56.0% during the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.5 %

AMAT opened at $174.88 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.56. 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 $144.57 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $189.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $205.72.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AMAT. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.05.

Applied Materials 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.