Fisher Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,254,743 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,694 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $657,621,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $28,000. PSI Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 56.0% during the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Clean Yield Group bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $174.88 on Monday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.57 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $189.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $205.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group lowered their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Mizuho cut their target price on 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, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $222.05.

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.