Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas Invests $20.26 Million in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 100,259 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $20,257,000. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 1.0% of Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas' investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Clean Yield Group bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank increased its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 56.0% during 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $220.29.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.2 %

Applied Materials stock traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $169.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,049,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,207,007. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $148.05 and a one year high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $139.61 billion, a PE ratio of 19.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a 50 day moving average of $183.52 and a 200-day moving average of $201.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The company 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Applied Materials 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.