Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC 提升了其在应用材料公司（NASDAQ:AMAT）的持股比例

Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 39.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 300,020 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 85,037 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for 2.1% of Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $43,539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,603,000 after buying an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,061,000 after buying an additional 2,771 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,530 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $737,000 after purchasing an additional 926 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $833,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 201.3% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,510 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 2,345 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday. They set a "buy" rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday. B. Riley cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $203.65.

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Get Our Latest Research Report on Applied Materials

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.9%

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NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $1.67 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $197.06. The company had a trading volume of 617,873 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,085,794. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.95, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.69. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $170.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $164.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 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 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

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.

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