Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC Purchases 85,037 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 39.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 300,020 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 85,037 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up 2.1% of Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $43,539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 worth $12,528,961,000 after acquiring an additional 487,358 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,079,451 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,260,178,000 after acquiring an additional 253,078 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,663,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,602,645 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of AMAT traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $197.93. 4,423,891 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,116,318. The company has a market cap of $158.84 billion, a PE ratio of 24.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.69. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $248.81. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $171.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $164.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.76.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. B. Riley decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $203.65.

About Applied Materials

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.