Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stake Boosted by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,739 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,841 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,776,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $773,611,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,259,111 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 1.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 891,446 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at about $162,873,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 20.4% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,623,048 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $953,411,000 after purchasing an additional 784,780 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock opened at $186.36 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $195.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $209.21. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $129.21 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $154.30 billion, a PE ratio of 21.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Eight investment 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.14.

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.