Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Acquires 1,332 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 78.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,039 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,332 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,554,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in Applied Materials by 85.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $50,267,184,000 after purchasing an additional 32,018,892 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $5,252,863,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $1,512,287,000. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 19.0% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 7,808,207 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,645,344,000 after buying an additional 1,246,876 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,212,518 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $57,993,650,000 after buying an additional 1,237,685 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AMAT. HSBC lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $683.00 to $641.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 14th. B. Riley Financial decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $700.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 26th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $675.00 to $695.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, New Street Research decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Thirty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $625.76.

Applied Materials Trading Up 6.1%

Shares of AMAT opened at $395.08 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $313.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $203.40 and a one year high of $739.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $440.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $445.52.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.28%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total value of $394,806.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,732,245.36. The trade was a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total transaction of $465,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,877,960. This represents a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

More Applied Materials News

These are some of the AMAT news items that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Chip-equipment stocks are rebounding ahead of Applied Materials’ earnings, with investors watching for signs that AI investment is translating into stronger equipment orders. A broader sector recovery is providing support for AMAT. Article: Applied Materials Rallies Ahead of Earnings as Chip Stocks Rebound
• Positive Sentiment: ETF flows were supportive: funds reportedly bought $317.1 million of AMAT on Monday, though this is a single-day snapshot. Article: ETFs Bought $317.1 Million of Applied Materials
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst valuation views have cooled: one fair-value estimate was trimmed, and B. Riley lowered its price target substantially to $475, although it still sees potential upside from the current level. Margin caution and uncertainty around China demand remain risks. Article: Applied Materials Stock Gets Fair Value Trim As Margin Caution Offsets AI Demand Article: B. Riley Cut Its Applied Materials Target to $475

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc. develops and supplies equipment, software and services used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its technologies help customers build and process materials at the microscopic scale required for chips and other electronic products. The company’s offerings include systems for depositing, removing and modifying materials, as well as inspection, measurement and process-control tools. It also provides equipment and services for advanced semiconductor packaging and supports customers with maintenance, upgrades and manufacturing software.