Vinva Investment Management Ltd Has $8.59 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,913 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,209 shares during the quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $8,589,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 108,816 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $21,986,000 after buying an additional 4,773 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 3.7% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,861,933 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,790,554,000 after purchasing an additional 318,445 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in Applied Materials by 774.8% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 278,993 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $56,371,000 after purchasing an additional 247,100 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 6,797 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,373,000 after purchasing an additional 865 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.7% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 1,006,353 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $203,334,000 after buying an additional 7,331 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $171.32 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $141.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.56. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $188.97 and a 200-day moving average of $204.99.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.12 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on AMAT. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. Dbs Bank downgraded Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.05.

About Applied Materials

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.