UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Buys 318,445 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,861,933 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 318,445 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,790,554,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.1 %

Applied Materials stock opened at $171.32 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $188.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $204.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.57 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th. B. Riley reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.05.

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.