Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,109,083 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 9,069 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Applied Materials worth $180,370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.1% in the third quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 13,050 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,637,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 9.6% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 625,561 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $126,395,000 after purchasing an additional 54,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Narus Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 36.3% in the third quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,179 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock 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. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $158.96 and a one year high of $255.89. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $175.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $183.92. 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 has a market cap of $139.77 billion, a PE 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 20.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.