Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Acquired by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 27.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 996,139 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 217,368 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.12% of Applied Materials worth $201,270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 56.0% during the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. StockNews.com cut Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. B. Riley dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $219.81.

Applied Materials Stock Down 9.2 %

Applied Materials stock opened at $168.88 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $141.94 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $139.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $190.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $206.78. 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 firm had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.71% and a net margin of 26.41%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.52 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 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Applied Materials Company 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.