Visionary Horizons LLC Takes $245,000 Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Visionary Horizons LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $245,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,008,622 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $15,469,028,000 after purchasing an additional 891,446 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 10.4% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,189,202 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,070,167,000 after buying an additional 490,597 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 1.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,084,186 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,199,817,000 after acquiring an additional 81,151 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 9.5% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,061,739 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,194,520,000 after acquiring an additional 438,691 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $857,615,000 after acquiring an additional 108,827 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, B. Riley cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.14.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $183.38 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $136.67 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $191.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $207.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.18 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 17.98%.

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.