Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $31.54 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 156,106 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,388 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $31,541,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $28,000. PSI Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 56.0% in the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank boosted its position in Applied Materials by 326.3% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AMAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, B. Riley cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.05.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $174.88 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $189.83 and a 200-day moving average of $205.72. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $144.57 and a one year high of $255.89. 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 $144.17 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

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.