Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Boosts Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 432.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 484,503 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 393,447 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $97,894,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. PSI Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 326.3% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.05.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.5 %

AMAT stock opened at $174.88 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $144.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.57 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $189.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $205.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

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.