Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Acquired by Banque Pictet & Cie SA

Banque Pictet & Cie SA raised its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,198 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,599 shares during the period. Banque Pictet & Cie SA's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $9,584,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. First Merchants Corp raised its stake in Applied Materials by 41.1% in the fourth quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 6,269 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,020,000 after buying an additional 1,825 shares in the last quarter. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $932,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $236,000. Family Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,306 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $700,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,154,552 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $187,765,000 after purchasing an additional 192,453 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded up $2.80 on Tuesday, reaching $172.00. 10,416,647 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,723,199. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.78 billion, a PE ratio of 19.98, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $158.96 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $175.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $184.12. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average 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.