National Bank of Canada FI Boosts Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 142.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,140,314 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 669,898 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.14% of Applied Materials worth $176,029,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $303,000. TCG Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 510.5% during the 4th quarter. TCG Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,013 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,785,000 after acquiring an additional 9,209 shares during the last quarter. AJOVista LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $128,000. Provence Wealth Management Group raised its position in Applied Materials by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group now owns 3,937 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $638,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,992 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $647,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a "hold" rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI assumed 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. Finally, B. Riley increased their price target on Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $201.50.

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.1 %

NASDAQ AMAT traded up $6.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $204.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,818,510 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,695,384. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.01, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.58. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $203.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.57. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $111.72 and a twelve month high of $214.91.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.48 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 (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.