Webster Bank N. A. Has $276,000 Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Webster Bank N. A. grew its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,365 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $276,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $773,611,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 3,940.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,175,766 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $352,626,000 after buying an additional 2,121,912 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 126.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $464,974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259,111 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,008,622 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $15,469,028,000 after buying an additional 891,446 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $162,873,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $205.06 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $194.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $209.78. The company has a market capitalization of $169.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.21 and a 1 year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on AMAT. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Dbs Bank cut Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.14.

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.