Nuveen Asset Management LLC cut its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 26.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 216,967 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 78,260 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $8,440,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Sowell Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 29.6% in the first quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 4,901 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $6,891,000. Ibex Wealth Advisors raised its stake in Applied Materials by 7.7% in the first quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors now owns 75,818 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,910,000 after buying an additional 5,442 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its stake in Applied Materials by 48.0% in the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 849,801 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,057,000 after buying an additional 275,701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $8,611,000. 79.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) traded up 2.74% on Friday, reaching $44.30. The company had a trading volume of 20,989,542 shares. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.56 and a 12 month high of $47.86. The company has a market capitalization of $47.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.32 and a beta of 1.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $44.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.24.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 17th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.69 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.28% and a net margin of 20.41%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post $3.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 24th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 22nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 16.46%.
Several analysts have commented on the stock. Vetr raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $48.70 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, July 24th. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Sunday, July 16th. Cowen and Company restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, July 28th. Bank of America Corporation restated a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price objective (up previously from $45.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, May 17th. Finally, UBS AG restated a “buy” rating and set a $51.00 price objective (up previously from $44.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, May 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.40.
About Applied Materials
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