Corient Private Wealth LLC Has $66.01 Million Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 12.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 407,299 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 45,431 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $66,011,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,032,850 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,389,048,000 after acquiring an additional 456,865 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 6.0% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,995,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,383,848,000 after purchasing an additional 570,080 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,514,814,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,017,147 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $813,129,000 after purchasing an additional 130,238 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,968,838 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $687,936,000 after acquiring an additional 230,789 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, B. Riley increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.64.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $1.65 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $218.15. 5,039,302 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,812,647. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.07, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $120.18 and a one year high of $221.75. The business's fifty day moving average is $205.30 and its 200-day moving average is $180.58.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.71%.

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.