Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by Edgestream Partners L.P.

Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 155.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,098 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 7,978 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,901,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,039,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $12,528,961,000 after purchasing an additional 487,358 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,079,451 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,260,178,000 after buying an additional 253,078 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,663,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602,645 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,588,422,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,338,520 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,356,094,000 after acquiring an additional 587,036 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $192.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46. The stock has a market cap of $154.50 billion, a PE ratio of 23.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.69. The business's fifty day moving average price is $175.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.79. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $224.09.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. B. Riley lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price target (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.74.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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