DSM Capital Partners LLC Acquires 99 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

DSM Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 35.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 381 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 99 shares during the quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $90,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $28,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 96.6% in the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $197.31 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $196.34 and a 200-day moving average of $209.98. The firm has a market cap of $162.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.68, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.55.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.05.

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.