Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Position Raised by Swedbank AB

Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 108,827 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises 1.1% of Swedbank AB’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Swedbank AB owned about 0.51% of Applied Materials worth $857,615,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,008,622 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $15,469,028,000 after buying an additional 891,446 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 10.4% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,189,202 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,070,167,000 after purchasing an additional 490,597 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,084,186 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,199,817,000 after buying an additional 81,151 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,061,739 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,194,520,000 after purchasing an additional 438,691 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.6% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,839,715 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $906,134,000 after buying an additional 59,910 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. B. Riley cut their target price 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. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Dbs Bank cut Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.14.

Applied Materials Stock Down 9.7 %

NASDAQ AMAT traded down $20.73 on Tuesday, reaching $193.16. The company had a trading volume of 10,573,653 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,029,359. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $159.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. The company’s fifty day moving average is $195.58 and its 200 day moving average is $209.83. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $129.21 and a 52-week high of $255.89.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.