Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Has $12.41 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 34.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 61,434 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,572 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $12,413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $28,000. Clean Yield Group bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth $33,000. First PREMIER Bank increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 56.0% during the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. B. Riley reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Citigroup decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $219.81.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.1 %

AMAT stock opened at $170.73 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.57 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.83, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $190.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $206.68.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 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.