Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Acquires 11,165 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 26.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,639 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,165 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $10,636,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $773,611,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,509,439 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 126.4% in the first 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 during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 262.5% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,008,622 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $15,469,028,000 after purchasing an additional 891,446 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $182.79 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $141.94 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.56. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $190.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $207.30. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.90 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Dbs Bank cut Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $227.24.

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.