Syon Capital LLC Purchases 3,289 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Syon Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 41.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 11,279 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,289 shares during the quarter. Syon Capital LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,828,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 47.0% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,480,780 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $343,464,000 after acquiring an additional 793,610 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,724,217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $441,514,000 after buying an additional 778,716 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 6.0% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,995,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,383,848,000 after buying an additional 570,080 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 13,929.6% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 515,028 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $834,710,000 after buying an additional 511,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 117.6% during the third quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 926,917 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $128,341,000 after buying an additional 500,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT traded up $1.44 on Thursday, reaching $197.50. The stock had a trading volume of 4,179,956 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,148,598. The stock has a market cap of $164.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.71. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $203.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.93. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.15 and a 12-month high of $214.91.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The firm had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $220.00 to $260.00 in a report on Monday, April 8th. Bank Of America (Bofa) increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.50.

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.