SkyView Investment Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,613 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 381 shares during the period. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $853,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $502,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 4,182 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $678,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $233,000. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,987 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $970,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com cut Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Barclays raised Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.05.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $204.92 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $195.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $209.95.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

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.