Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Acquired by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,479,169 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 76,359 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.18% of Applied Materials worth $346,806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $502,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the period. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 4,182 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $678,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 44.3% during 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. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 53,419 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $8,096,000 after purchasing an additional 1,430 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $192.16 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $198.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $210.17. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.10 billion, a PE ratio of 22.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released 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 return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Dbs Bank downgraded Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.05.

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.