Graypoint LLC Has $1.57 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Graypoint LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,780 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,008,622 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $15,469,028,000 after buying an additional 891,446 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew 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 worth $1,327,707,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509,439 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 10.4% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,189,202 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,070,167,000 after purchasing an additional 490,597 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,084,186 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,199,817,000 after purchasing an additional 81,151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $857,615,000 after purchasing an additional 108,827 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.5 %

AMAT opened at $194.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.61 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.01 billion, a PE ratio of 21.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.56. The company’s 50-day moving average is $191.07 and its 200 day moving average is $207.37.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted 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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. B. Riley reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.14.

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.