Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Boosts Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 882,824 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 53,375 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich owned 0.11% of Applied Materials worth $143,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials by 76.9% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 333.8% during the 3rd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 295 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 795.0% during the 3rd quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 29,606 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 26,298 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. TD Cowen upped their target price on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. B. Riley upped their price target on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. UBS Group upped their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Applied Materials from $180.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.50.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock traded up $1.44 during trading on Thursday, reaching $197.50. The company had a trading volume of 4,232,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,149,218. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $109.15 and a 52 week high of $214.91. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $203.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The business's quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.06%.

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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