Candriam S.C.A. Has $159.65 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Candriam S.C.A. grew its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 676,556 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 50,571 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 1.0% of Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Candriam S.C.A. owned about 0.08% of Applied Materials worth $159,653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 2.2% during the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 35,066 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $8,275,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 127,251 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,030,000 after buying an additional 1,045 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 10.7% during the second quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 1,354 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC now owns 4,351 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 240,882 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $56,846,000 after buying an additional 2,393 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $174.75 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $144.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $209.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. B. Riley cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $12,458,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.