Prospera Private Wealth LLC Invests $1.68 Million in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 8,314 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,680,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $773,611,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 29.8% during 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 buying an additional 1,509,439 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,259,111 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $280,951,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006,937 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. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded down $0.43 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $168.88. 1,967,363 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,139,764. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $190.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $206.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The company has a market cap of $139.22 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.57 and a twelve month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on AMAT. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com cut Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $219.81.

Applied Materials 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.