Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 90.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,277 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,397 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises 0.7% of Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,874,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Applied Materials by 29.8% in the third 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 during the last quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 47.0% during the third quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 67,915 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $13,722,000 after purchasing an additional 21,699 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,139,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $230,158,000 after purchasing an additional 15,183 shares during the last quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 252.0% in the 3rd quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 4,734 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $957,000 after purchasing an additional 3,389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 26.9% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 52,639 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $10,636,000 after purchasing an additional 11,165 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.
NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $174.88 on Friday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $189.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $205.72. 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 stock has a market cap of $144.17 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.57 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The company 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 $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.
Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. B. Riley decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $222.05.
Check Out Our Latest Report on AMAT
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.
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