Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Acquired by Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,456 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $698,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $773,611,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 126.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $464,974,000 after buying an additional 1,259,111 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 262.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,390,501 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $280,951,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006,937 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,008,622 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $15,469,028,000 after acquiring an additional 891,446 shares during the period. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $162,873,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.5 %

Applied Materials stock opened at $186.52 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $154.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $129.21 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $193.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $208.42.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion for 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 revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.90 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.14.

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.