BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Has $212.81 Million Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,053,230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 116,312 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned approximately 0.13% of Applied Materials worth $212,805,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. PSI Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.7 %

AMAT stock opened at $170.49 on Thursday. 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 market capitalization of $140.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56. The business has a 50-day moving average of $190.26 and a 200-day moving average of $206.19. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.57 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Citigroup decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.