CIBC Asset Management Inc Increases Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 41.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 373,893 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 110,307 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $60,770,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning grew its stake in Applied Materials by 13.9% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 223,520 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $43,910,000 after purchasing an additional 27,348 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its stake in Applied Materials by 2.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $857,615,000 after purchasing an additional 108,827 shares in the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 8.1% in the third quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 2,140 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 1.5% in the third quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,892 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 0.5% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 340,434 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $68,785,000 after purchasing an additional 1,724 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of AMAT stock traded up $1.98 during trading on Thursday, hitting $176.04. 6,686,400 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,702,766. The firm has a market capitalization of $143.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.53. 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's fifty day moving average price is $175.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $183.98. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $158.96 and a 52-week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 0.91%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 20.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating and set a $164.00 target price (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Company 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.