Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,270 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 492 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,123,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,032,850 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,389,048,000 after purchasing an additional 456,865 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Applied Materials by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,995,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,383,848,000 after buying an additional 570,080 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,968,838 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $687,936,000 after buying an additional 230,789 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,529,689 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $488,685,000 after purchasing an additional 32,622 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,831,986 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $458,980,000 after purchasing an additional 351,206 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.50.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $196.15. The stock had a trading volume of 1,901,256 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,118,794. The company has a market capitalization of $162.98 billion, a PE ratio of 23.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $203.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $170.93. 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 1 year low of $109.15 and a 1 year high of $214.91.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 15.06%.

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.