Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $68.79 Million Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 340,434 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,724 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $68,785,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RFG Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 30.8% during the 1st quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 6,416 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,323,000 after purchasing an additional 1,512 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,350 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $699,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 2,791 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $576,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 12,895 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,659,000 after acquiring an additional 2,323 shares during the period. Finally, True North Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth $246,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.14.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $186.36 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $195.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $209.23. The stock has a market cap of $154.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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 $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

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.