Prospera Financial Services Inc Boosts Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 29.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,472 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,215 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,734,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $773,611,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Applied Materials by 29.8% in the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 1,509,439 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 126.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $464,974,000 after acquiring an additional 1,259,111 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 262.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,390,501 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $280,951,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006,937 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $162,873,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. StockNews.com cut Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $219.81.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $170.49 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $140.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.57 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $190.26 and a 200 day moving average of $206.19.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

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.