Black Swift Group LLC Invests $505,000 in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Black Swift Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,500 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $505,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,008,622 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $15,469,028,000 after purchasing an additional 891,446 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 29.8% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,327,707,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509,439 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 10.4% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,189,202 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,070,167,000 after acquiring an additional 490,597 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials by 1.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,084,186 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,199,817,000 after purchasing an additional 81,151 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $857,615,000 after purchasing an additional 108,827 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on AMAT. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup cut their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.24.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock traded up $2.90 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $185.69. 1,310,215 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,043,830. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $141.94 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $153.08 billion, a PE ratio of 20.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $190.88 and a 200 day moving average of $207.13.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.98%.

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.