Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. Raises Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 19.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,967 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 826 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,172,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth $773,611,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3,940.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,175,766 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $352,626,000 after buying an additional 2,121,912 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 126.4% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $464,974,000 after buying an additional 1,259,111 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,117,176 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,012,171,000 after acquiring an additional 973,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth $162,873,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $192.16 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $198.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $210.16. The company has a market capitalization of $159.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.09, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $129.21 and a 1-year high of $255.89. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 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 firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AMAT. Mizuho decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.