Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by Profund Advisors LLC

Profund Advisors LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 135,559 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,593 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises 1.2% of Profund Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Profund Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $31,991,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $502,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 4,182 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $678,000 after buying an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $369,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 110,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $17,969,000 after acquiring an additional 5,353 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. B. Riley reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.05.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $192.16 on Friday. 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company’s fifty day moving average is $198.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $210.18.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Applied Materials 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.