Diversify Advisory Services LLC Acquires 3,189 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 47.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,910 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,189 shares during the quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,701,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in Applied Materials by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,808,047 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,841,178,000 after purchasing an additional 672,548 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,826,373 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,994,968,000 after purchasing an additional 371,866 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,413,112 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,316,269,000 after acquiring an additional 858,122 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,861,933 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,790,554,000 after purchasing an additional 318,445 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 29.8% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,327,707,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509,439 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $192.05 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $173.10 and a 200 day moving average of $190.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $156.78 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $156.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.95.

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.