Blair William & Co. IL Increases Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Blair William & Co. IL grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 81,088 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,977 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $19,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth about $773,611,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 3,940.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,175,766 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $352,626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,121,912 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 126.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $464,974,000 after acquiring an additional 1,259,111 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,117,176 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $12,012,171,000 after acquiring an additional 973,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth about $162,873,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $196.71 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $199.38 and its 200 day moving average is $210.28. The stock has a market cap of $162.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $129.21 and a 1-year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. B. Riley cut their target price on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $232.00.

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.