APG Asset Management US Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

APG Asset Management US Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 259,548 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,488 shares during the period. APG Asset Management US Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $61,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. JT Stratford LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.4% in the first quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 10,890 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,246,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.6% during the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 924 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $191,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.3% during the second quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 1,556 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $367,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 4,016 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $948,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.7% during the second quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. StockNews.com lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.05.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $197.31 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $162.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $196.34 and its 200-day moving average is $209.98.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion for 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 company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

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.