Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Acquires 828 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 43,342 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 828 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $7,024,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $930,505,000. Cowa LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $76,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 79,147.5% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,726,422 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $557,639,000 after buying an additional 5,719,196 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 25.1% during the second quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 9,609,330 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,388,933,000 after buying an additional 1,925,722 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 63.9% during the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,892,930 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $562,685,000 after buying an additional 1,517,116 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $220.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. One equities research 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.50.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $9.59 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $199.89. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,348,555 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,200,080. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.12 and a fifty-two week high of $214.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $201.54 and its 200-day moving average is $168.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The firm has a market cap of $166.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.59.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The business 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 firm posted $2.03 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date 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%.

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.