Meitav Investment House Ltd. Grows Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Meitav Investment House Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 984.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 105,783 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 96,031 shares during the period. Meitav Investment House Ltd.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $17,204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.3 %

NASDAQ AMAT traded down $4.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $171.98. The company had a trading volume of 7,364,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,722,227. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $175.59 and a 200 day moving average of $183.92. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $158.96 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $164.00 target price (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.