Nordea Investment Management AB Has $340.90 Million Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 164,085 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned about 0.26% of Applied Materials worth $340,895,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Everence Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 23,216 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,776,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,118,152 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $225,923,000 after purchasing an additional 96,009 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.9% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 12,229 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,461,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 4.5% during the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 7,671 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,550,000 after buying an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Milestone Resources Group Ltd raised its stake in Applied Materials by 41.6% in the third quarter. Milestone Resources Group Ltd now owns 1,334 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating and set a $164.00 price objective (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $220.29.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded up $7.42 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $177.48. 8,472,470 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,120,848. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $148.24 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $144.41 billion, a PE ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $174.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $194.66.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

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.