Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Position Lifted by Pensionfund Sabic

Pensionfund Sabic lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 38.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,700 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,147,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 326.3% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 592.9% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $164.00 target price (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $220.29.

Applied Materials Trading Up 4.4 %

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded up $7.42 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $177.48. The stock had a trading volume of 8,472,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,120,848. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $174.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $194.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $148.24 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 18.58%.

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.