Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by Nepsis Inc.

by · The Markets Daily

Nepsis Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report) by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 81,908 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,659 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up approximately 3.9% of Nepsis Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Nepsis Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $16,550,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $773,611,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 126.4% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $464,974,000 after buying an additional 1,259,111 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,008,622 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $15,469,028,000 after buying an additional 891,446 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $162,873,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Applied Materials by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,623,048 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $953,411,000 after acquiring an additional 784,780 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $3.12 during trading on Friday, hitting $186.36. 5,758,553 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,100,299. The company has a market cap of $154.30 billion, a PE ratio of 21.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $195.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $209.23. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.21 and a 12-month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on AMAT. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. 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 note on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.14.

View Our Latest Research Report on AMAT

Applied Materials Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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