Avanza Fonder AB Buys New Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 85,207 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $13,857,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $1,340,000. Argent Trust Co boosted its position in Applied Materials by 28.4% during the 2nd quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 12,119 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,860,000 after acquiring an additional 2,682 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 81,088 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $19,136,000 after acquiring an additional 1,977 shares during the period. Waterloo Capital L.P. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $318,000. Finally, Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 57.8% in the second quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 677 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $217.41.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock traded up $5.57 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $192.05. 8,101,449 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,431,350. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $156.78 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The stock has a market cap of $156.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.53. The stock's 50-day moving average is $173.10 and its 200 day moving average is $191.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. Applied Materials's revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.12 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.37 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid 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 0.83%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.

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.