Candriam S.C.A. Trims Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Candriam S.C.A. cut its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 19.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 281,482 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 68,359 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $51,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 435.0% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 5,325.0% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. Disciplina Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 91.5% in the 1st quarter. Disciplina Capital Management LLC now owns 272 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Greenline Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AMAT. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, October 3rd. DZ Bank cut shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Summit Insights lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $212.31.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.9%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $230.73 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $242.50. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $209.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $186.02. The stock has a market cap of $183.81 billion, a PE ratio of 27.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.84.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $7.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.21 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.93%.

About Applied Materials

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.