Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Purchases 7,331 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,006,353 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,331 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises 0.6% of Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $203,334,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. WASHINGTON TRUST Co raised its position in Applied Materials by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 1,556 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% in the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 4,016 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $948,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.7% in the second quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its position in Applied Materials by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,847,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 6,090 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,437,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.05.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock opened at $171.32 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.57 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $141.24 billion, a PE ratio of 19.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.56. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $188.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $204.99.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

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.