Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Acquired by Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 51,328 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,032 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $10,370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ascent Group LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5.8% during the first quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 2,308 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 64.3% during the 1st quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 7,078 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,460,000 after buying an additional 2,770 shares during the period. Interval Partners LP lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 7,433.3% during the first quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 11,000 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,269,000 after buying an additional 11,150 shares in the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth about $1,297,000. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 8.4% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 15,703 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,238,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT opened at $174.88 on Monday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.57 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.56. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $189.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $205.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AMAT. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. B. Riley dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Dbs Bank cut shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $222.05.

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.