Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stake Boosted by Woodstock Corp

Woodstock Corp boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 6.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,886 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,742 shares during the quarter. Woodstock Corp’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 5,519 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $961,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 7,631 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 2,574 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3,940.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,175,766 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $352,626,000 after purchasing an additional 2,121,912 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 44.3% in the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,963 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,157,000 after purchasing an additional 2,137 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $205.06 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $194.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $209.78. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $255.89.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, B. Riley decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.14.

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.