Two Sigma Advisers LP Raises Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 18.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,700 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,100 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $12,062,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 326.3% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 56.0% in the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $3.69 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $168.17. The company had a trading volume of 7,358,614 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,198,155. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $148.05 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $138.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.53, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.52. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $185.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $202.74.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.45 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 18.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on AMAT. B. Riley lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $220.29.

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.