Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by Impax Asset Management Group plc

Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,617,378 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 66,275 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises about 1.9% of Impax Asset Management Group plc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Impax Asset Management Group plc owned about 0.32% of Applied Materials worth $424,986,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,808,047 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,841,178,000 after purchasing an additional 672,548 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,826,373 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,994,968,000 after buying an additional 371,866 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,413,112 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,316,269,000 after buying an additional 858,122 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,861,933 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,790,554,000 after acquiring an additional 318,445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,655,308 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,082,353,000 after acquiring an additional 84,130 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $171.98 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $175.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $183.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $158.96 and a 12 month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna upped their price target on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $215.38.

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.