Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Bought by Hollencrest Capital Management

Hollencrest Capital Management increased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 67,117 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the period. Hollencrest Capital Management’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $13,561,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,008,622 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $15,469,028,000 after purchasing an additional 891,446 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 29.8% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,327,707,000 after buying an additional 1,509,439 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 10.4% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,189,202 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,070,167,000 after buying an additional 490,597 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,084,186 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,199,817,000 after buying an additional 81,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $857,615,000 after acquiring an additional 108,827 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded down $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $193.65. 1,267,272 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,042,220. The stock has a market cap of $159.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.81, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $141.94 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $191.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $207.37.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.90 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 17.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Dbs Bank cut shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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, Mizuho decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.14.

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.