Prospera Financial Services Inc Has $3.73 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 29.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,472 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,215 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 29.8% in 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 buying an additional 1,509,439 shares during the period. WoodTrust Financial Corp grew its stake in Applied Materials by 47.0% during the third quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 67,915 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $13,722,000 after purchasing an additional 21,699 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 1.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,139,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $230,158,000 after purchasing an additional 15,183 shares during the period. Stiles Financial Services Inc grew its stake in Applied Materials by 252.0% during the third quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 4,734 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $957,000 after purchasing an additional 3,389 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 26.9% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 52,639 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $10,636,000 after purchasing an additional 11,165 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $170.49 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.57 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $140.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $190.26 and its 200 day moving average is $206.19.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.52 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. 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 0.94%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna cut their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $219.81.

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.