Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Grows Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,208 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $850,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 29.8% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,327,707,000 after buying an additional 1,509,439 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 262.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,390,501 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $280,951,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006,937 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 18,449.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 643,102 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,299,390,000 after purchasing an additional 639,635 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 139.0% during the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,024,083 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $241,673,000 after purchasing an additional 595,594 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in Applied Materials by 82.6% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,000,215 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $236,041,000 after acquiring an additional 452,462 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $171.32 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $141.24 billion, a PE ratio of 19.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $188.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $204.99. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.57 and a 1-year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Dbs Bank cut Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.05.

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.