Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Position Increased by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 27.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 996,139 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 217,368 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $201,270,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. M&G Plc purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth about $2,645,000. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 7.8% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 854 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $176,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Davis R M Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.3% during the first quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 4,814 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $993,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 71,659 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $14,778,000 after purchasing an additional 11,968 shares during the period. Finally, Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $224,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $168.88 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $139.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $141.94 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $190.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $206.78.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.71%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, 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 report on Monday, September 16th. Eight 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, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $219.81.

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.