Janus Henderson Group PLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 67.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,663,133 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,884,153 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $942,187,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $28,000. PSI Advisors LLC grew 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 worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $183.26 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $187.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $204.19. The company has a market cap of $151.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.52. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.57 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AMAT. UBS Group dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Citigroup cut their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Dbs Bank downgraded Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.48.

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.