Pacer Advisors Inc. Acquires 11,535 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 9.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 137,188 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,535 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $32,375,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 4,182 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $678,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $369,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 110,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $17,969,000 after acquiring an additional 5,353 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. B. Riley lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.05.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $192.16 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $159.10 billion, a PE ratio of 22.09, a P/E/G 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. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $198.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $210.18.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS 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 business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company 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. 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 is currently 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.