United Asset Strategies Inc. Has $1.33 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

United Asset Strategies Inc. reduced its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 22.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,278 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,148 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,332,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. IFG Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1,008.1% during the second quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 36,156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,619,000 after buying an additional 32,893 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its stake in Applied Materials by 23.0% during the second quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 12,643 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,315,000 after acquiring an additional 2,363 shares during the period. Sienna Gestion raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 113,221 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $18,924,000 after acquiring an additional 10,468 shares in the last quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 501,587 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $91,826,000 after acquiring an additional 35,437 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 77,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $14,129,000 after acquiring an additional 6,704 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $230.73 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $242.50. The business has a fifty day moving average of $209.71 and a 200-day moving average of $186.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.50. The firm has a market cap of $183.81 billion, a PE ratio of 27.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.84.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.21 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. The company’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Daiwa Capital Markets restated a “neutral” rating and set a $170.00 price objective (down from $185.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $212.31.

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.