Blume Capital Management Inc. Raises Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Blume Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 9.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,705 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up approximately 1.4% of Blume Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Blume Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 4th 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 grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 18.6% during 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 buying an additional 1,602,645 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,588,422,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,338,520 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,356,094,000 after buying an additional 587,036 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,954,305 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $968,349,000 after buying an additional 484,133 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of AMAT stock traded down $2.43 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $185.69. 6,580,937 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,161,150. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $215.70. The stock has a market cap of $149.02 billion, a PE ratio of 22.59, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $177.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $166.59.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its 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. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 price target on Applied Materials and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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 that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company 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.