Curi RMB Capital LLC Has $13.86 Million Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Curi RMB Capital LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,609 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 436 shares during the period. Curi RMB Capital LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $13,862,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in 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. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Applied Materials by 29.8% in the third 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 period. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,070,167,000 after acquiring an additional 490,597 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 worth $1,199,817,000 after purchasing an additional 81,151 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $857,615,000 after purchasing an additional 108,827 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. B. Riley decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Susquehanna cut their target price on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.24.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $182.79 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $141.94 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $190.88 and a 200 day moving average of $207.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.56.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.98%.

Applied Materials 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.