Portfolio Design Labs LLC Makes New $2.08 Million Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Portfolio Design Labs LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 10,313 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,084,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 29.8% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,327,707,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509,439 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 10.4% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,189,202 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,070,167,000 after buying an additional 490,597 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,084,186 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,199,817,000 after buying an additional 81,151 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.6% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $857,615,000 after buying an additional 108,827 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.6% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,839,715 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $906,134,000 after buying an additional 59,910 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.7 %

AMAT traded up $1.18 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $170.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,193,674 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,158,536. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.66, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56. 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's 50-day moving average is $190.57 and its 200-day moving average is $206.44.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.