8,257 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Acquired by Team Hewins LLC

Team Hewins LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 8,257 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,338,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,514,814,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,724,217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $441,514,000 after acquiring an additional 778,716 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 142.4% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,140,314 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $176,029,000 after acquiring an additional 669,898 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 6.0% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,995,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,383,848,000 after acquiring an additional 570,080 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 13,929.6% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 515,028 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $834,710,000 after acquiring an additional 511,357 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.1 %

AMAT stock traded down $0.20 on Thursday, reaching $217.95. 5,804,009 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,812,764. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $120.18 and a one year high of $225.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The company has a market cap of $181.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.58. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $205.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $180.84.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 14.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James upped their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.64.

Applied Materials Company 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.

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