Primecap Management Co. CA Lowers Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Primecap Management Co. CA decreased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,742,283 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 112,900 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA owned approximately 0.33% of Applied Materials worth $554,078,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth about $773,611,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 29.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,509,439 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 126.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $464,974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259,111 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 262.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,390,501 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $280,951,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006,937 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth about $162,873,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on AMAT. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC cut 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. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $219.81.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $170.49 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $190.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $206.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.57 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $140.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

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.