Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Has $7.77 Million Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,921 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 292 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $7,769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth $1,764,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 89.3% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,988 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,121,000 after purchasing an additional 4,239 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 5.4% during the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,350 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $699,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Calton & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at about $243,000. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 17.3% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 23,949 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,939,000 after acquiring an additional 3,529 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock opened at $192.16 on Friday. The firm has a market cap 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. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $198.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $210.16. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $129.21 and a 1-year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. StockNews.com lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.05.

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.