Rheos Capital Works Inc. Acquires 43,000 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Rheos Capital Works Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 35.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 165,600 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,000 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for 1.7% of Rheos Capital Works Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Rheos Capital Works Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $33,459,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Down 3.4 %

AMAT stock opened at $184.59 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $195.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $209.55. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $129.21 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.84 billion, a PE ratio of 21.22, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.90 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AMAT. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. B. Riley reduced 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 note on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.14.

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.