Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Acquired by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 410,705 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,222 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $96,923,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 56.0% during the 2nd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AMAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.05.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $192.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. The business has a 50-day moving average of $198.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $210.18. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 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.