Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,448 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 189 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,707,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth approximately $773,611,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,509,439 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 126.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $464,974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259,111 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 262.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,390,501 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $280,951,000 after buying an additional 1,006,937 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 valued at $15,469,028,000 after buying an additional 891,446 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of AMAT traded down $0.90 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $187.66. The company had a trading volume of 955,605 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,033,358. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.94 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $190.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $207.42. The stock has a market cap of $154.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.19, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 17.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Dbs Bank cut Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $228.19.

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.