Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Bought by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 43,877 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 543 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $8,865,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth approximately $773,611,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 29.8% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,259,111 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 262.5% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 891,446 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $227.24.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $182.79 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $150.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.54, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.94 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $190.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $207.13.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.98%.

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.