Peak Financial Advisors LLC Invests $3.20 Million in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Peak Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 15,827 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,198,000. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 1.6% of Peak Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $773,611,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3,940.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,175,766 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $352,626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,121,912 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 126.4% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $464,974,000 after acquiring an additional 1,259,111 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,117,176 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,012,171,000 after acquiring an additional 973,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $162,873,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. B. Riley reduced 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. UBS Group lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.14.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $205.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $194.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $209.74. The company has a market capitalization of $169.05 billion, a PE ratio of 23.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. 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 0.78%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 17.98%.

About Applied Materials

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.