Forsta AP Fonden Boosts Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Forsta AP Fonden increased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 252,400 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,800 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $41,048,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at $33,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its position in Applied Materials by 326.3% during the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 592.9% during 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 period. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded down $1.37 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $180.35. 5,898,060 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,179,808. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $174.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $187.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $158.96 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target 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. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $218.71.

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.