3,920 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Acquired by Blueshift Asset Management LLC

Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 3,920 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $792,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. PSI Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 56.0% during the 2nd quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 326.3% during 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. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $171.32 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $188.97 and a 200 day moving average of $204.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.57 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.24 billion, a PE ratio of 19.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on AMAT. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, B. Riley decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.05.

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.