Concord Asset Management LLC VA Acquires 1,578 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Concord Asset Management LLC VA increased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 16.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 11,404 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,578 shares during the period. Concord Asset Management LLC VA’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $773,611,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,327,707,000 after buying an additional 1,509,439 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 126.4% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $464,974,000 after buying an additional 1,259,111 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 262.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,390,501 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $280,951,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006,937 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at about $162,873,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America cut their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. B. Riley decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $219.81.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $168.88 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $139.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $141.94 and a twelve month high of $255.89. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $190.88 and a 200 day moving average of $206.78.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.71% and a net margin of 26.41%. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

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.