Visionary Horizons LLC Makes New $245,000 Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Visionary Horizons LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $245,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $773,611,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 126.4% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $464,974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259,111 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 262.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,390,501 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $280,951,000 after buying an additional 1,006,937 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 buying an additional 891,446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $162,873,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.14.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.0 %

Applied Materials stock opened at $183.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $191.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $207.58. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $136.67 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $151.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.60, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.54.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.98%.

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.