Columbus Circle Investors cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 16.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,889,475 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 550,981 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 2.0% of Columbus Circle Investors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Columbus Circle Investors owned about 0.27% of Applied Materials worth $119,364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Applied Materials by 14.1% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 70,413 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,887,000 after buying an additional 8,705 shares during the last quarter. Boston Family Office LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at $207,000. HM Payson & Co. raised its position in Applied Materials by 91.2% in the second quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 17,629 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $728,000 after buying an additional 8,410 shares during the last quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 0.3% in the second quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC now owns 518,349 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $21,413,000 after buying an additional 1,617 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at $201,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.33% of the company’s stock.
Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) opened at 43.31 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $27.56 and a one year high of $47.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $44.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.39 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40 and a beta of 1.82.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 17th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.69 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.08% and a return on equity of 40.74%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post $3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Shareholders 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 0.92%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 14.18%.
Several equities analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Deutsche Bank AG reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $48.00 target price (up previously from $45.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 19th. Bank of America Corporation reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $54.00 target price (up previously from $45.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, May 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Applied Materials from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 21st. Finally, Susquehanna Bancshares Inc reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up previously from $35.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, May 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.18.
About Applied Materials
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