Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Grows Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 34.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,434 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 15,572 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $12,413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 57.4% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 46,272 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $9,542,000 after buying an additional 16,871 shares in the last quarter. InterOcean Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 10.3% during the first quarter. InterOcean Capital Group LLC now owns 3,643 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $751,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the period. Ossiam grew its stake in Applied Materials by 2,690.4% in the first quarter. Ossiam now owns 439,829 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $90,706,000 after purchasing an additional 424,067 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter worth $643,000. Finally, Payden & Rygel Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at $14,479,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded down $1.42 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $169.31. 8,646,666 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,158,372. 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 1 year low of $144.57 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $190.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $206.68. The stock has a market cap of $139.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.58, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. B. Riley decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Dbs Bank downgraded Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $219.81.

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.