Intech Investment Management LLC Has $6.95 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,379 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,860 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,946,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 56.0% in the 2nd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $175.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $190.11 and a 200-day moving average of $205.97. The company has a market cap of $144.55 billion, a PE ratio of 20.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $144.57 and a one year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. 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 0.91%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. B. Riley dropped their price target 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. Dbs Bank lowered Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. 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 report on Friday, August 16th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $219.81.

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.