PGGM Investments Trims Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

PGGM Investments trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 118,803 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 10,079 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments' holdings in Applied Materials were worth $19,254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aldebaran Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $211,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,274,000. Sycomore Asset Management boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 55.6% during the fourth quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 33,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $5,437,000 after buying an additional 11,825 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 37,821 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $6,130,000 after buying an additional 6,001 shares during the period. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 132.7% in the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,704 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,707,000 after purchasing an additional 9,527 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AMAT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. Susquehanna upped their price target on Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. 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 report on Friday, February 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $201.50.

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.0 %

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $5.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $203.38. The stock had a trading volume of 3,933,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,553,379. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $203.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $171.77. The company has a market capitalization of $168.99 billion, a PE ratio of 23.93, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.59. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $109.15 and a twelve month high of $214.91. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The company had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.