Penserra Capital Management LLC Purchases 25,890 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 35.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 99,592 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 25,890 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $14,452,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. now owns 1,558 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $226,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Maj Invest Holding A S acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at about $126,642,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 99.2% during the first quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,455 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,678,000 after purchasing an additional 9,191 shares in the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.2% during the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 11,039 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,602,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 57.5% during the first quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 42,094 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $6,109,000 after purchasing an additional 15,361 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $0.75 on Wednesday, reaching $195.74. 3,065,537 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,089,626. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The firm has a market cap of $157.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.69. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $164.35.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen cut their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $202.65.

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.