Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 16.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 235,868 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,450 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $38,227,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aldebaran Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $211,000. Sycomore Asset Management raised its position in Applied Materials by 55.6% during the fourth quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 33,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,437,000 after acquiring an additional 11,825 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $7,274,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 132.7% during the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,704 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,707,000 after buying an additional 9,527 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 37,821 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $6,130,000 after buying an additional 6,001 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock traded up $2.94 during trading on Friday, hitting $220.89. The stock had a trading volume of 3,795,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,466,837. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.80. The stock has a market cap of $183.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.58. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $206.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.94. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $126.13 and a 1-year high of $225.07.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The firm’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.00 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.64.

Applied Materials 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.